


Drops

by Dyde21



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, FIND FLUFF HERE, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, oh the fluff, unconnected oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-01-02 06:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21157394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyde21/pseuds/Dyde21
Summary: This will be a collection of a bunch of unconnected one shots that I write over on my Tumblr. These are pretty much all cute, fluff, melt your teeth, happiness. Any deviation from this will be warned at the start of the chapter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first one is called Sixteen going on Six! After an incident on a mission, Percy is turned into a kid, and it's up to his friends to keep him safe. But can they keep him out of trouble?

Percy ducked as deadly credit cards sped through the air just above his head, sticking out of the concrete like tiny daggers.  
“Where are you going? Our sales are to die for!” The womanly snarl came out.  
Rolling his eyes, Percy rolled to the left as another set of cards whizzed past him. The jokes had stopped being funny about five minutes into running for his life. “A little help here!” He called out, though he knew the rest of their gang were busy with their own saleswomen.  
“A little busy!” Jason called out, deflecting a bronze umbrella, that opened to a fan of knives.  
“Next time, we're just ordering online! I'm done shopping!” Leo called out as he ducked behind a trashcan as the woman ran past him.  
Spinning in place, Percy swiped another set of cards out of the air. They couldn't keep running, eventually the monsters would catch up. He dashed forward, ducking a swing from her claws as he cut off one of her legs. The monster flailed, but Percy stabbed downwards and finished off the beast. Looking for who else could use help, he spotted a cloud of dust around an invisible figure running away, being chased by another saleswoman holding multiple vials in their hands. Percy figured Annabeth had been hit by something, so even her cap wasn't letting her hide to find an opportunity.  
Ripping a trashcan lid off a nearby bin, he hurled it towards the saleswoman.  
Before he could celebrate however, the woman just reached up and caught it. “I'm with a customer right now, please wait your turn.” She said in a sickeningly sweet tone, before she flexed her hand and bent the metal like it was paper.  
That had been the distraction Annabeth had needed, as she had turned and stabbed the woman in the gut before jumping backwards as the saleswoman flailed with her claws. Quickly making her way to Percy, Annabeth just grinned, removing her hat. “Thanks for the help, Seaweed Brain.”  
Smirking, Percy was about to reply when he saw the lady raise her hands with the vials. Throwing one, Percy barely had time to shove Annabeth out of the way as it collided with the pavement, a sickly green ooze appearing and beginning it melt through the ground.  
Annabeth staggered, off balance from the sudden shove, but before she could regain her balance she saw another one heading straight towards her. Desperate, she raised her hands but it would be too late. At least until she saw Percy dive in front of her, arms wide, as the vial of liquid exploded across his back.  
Annabeth shrieked, expecting to see her boyfriend melting, but nothing was happening.  
Even the saleswoman looked stunned. “Oh, wrong vial! Dammit! Now this time I'll...” She never got to finish her sentence as Jason's sword lopped off her head, leaving her dissolving into dust.  
The rest of the crew ran over as Percy dropped to his knees.  
Kneeling in front of him, Annabeth held his face in her hands gently. “Percy, look at me. Is everything okay? What are you feeling?”  
Percy just stared at her, confused. “I don't know. I feel strange... I... I feel fine mostly though. Nothing hurts.”  
Hazel frowned. “There's no way that vial was just water. Something... something is on you. Probably a potion, but we have no way of knowing what it could have been.”  
Annabeth frowned, her mind racing a million miles a minute. What could it be? Judging by Percy's expression, he felt normal. Which was bad, that meant whatever it was would be subtle. “Take off your shirt Percy.” She ordered.  
Percy raised an eyebrow as Hazel flushed, looking away. “Excuse me?” The son of poseidon said after a moment.  
Annabeth however was already lifting his hoodie off of him, tugging at his shirt. She ignored the red creeping in her cheeks. “We don't know what potion hit you, but it's still on your shirt and hoodie. You can't leave those on in case it's dangerous. It could be explosive for all we know.”  
That did the trick as Percy quickly stripped off his shirt, throwing it in a nearby trash can.  
Piper snickered as she saw Annabeth eyeing Percy's chest with a look she was probably unaware she had on. Nudging her boyfriend, she convinced Jason to give Percy his jacket for the trip home. She figured Hazel would be less uncomfortable that way, and Annabeth wouldn't be as distracted.  
Annabeth held Percy's hand as they walked back, cautiously studying him, looking for any idea of what effect the potion could have had. “I'm sorry.” She muttered softly to him.  
Shaking his head, Percy smiled. “It's not your fault. It's a good thing we stopped them.”  
The crew of the Argo II had decided to meet up to get some lunch. Even Reyna had joined them, since the leaders of both the Greek and roman camps had decided to meet up regularly in order to stay in contact, and maintain relationships to avoid future conflict the best they could. On the way, Annabeth had happened to notice some monsters sneaking off down an alley. Annabeth had said they should follow them, since gathering monsters usually meant some sort of problem that would try to kill them eventually. Reyna had agreed, and their course had been decided.  
There they had found a backstreet market for monsters. All sorts of knick-knacks, potions, and spare weapons were sold there, along with fresh hot dogs. Everything a monster could need to slay some demi-gods. Figuring they couldn't leave it alone, they had launched a surprise attack on the small stand, destroying it. It turned out the owners weren't too happy with having their shop destroyed, so they had struck back.  
Annabeth just stayed quiet, still studying him. “When we get back to camp, you're going straight to Chiron. We need to figure out what hit you. Maybe a hectate kid can help you too.”  
Nodding his head, Percy smiled weakly. “Okay, mom.” He said with a small laugh.  
Pouting, Annabeth wanted to call him out but she figured that having her boyfriend not freaking out about being splashed with some dangerous liquid was probably better than the alternative.  
By the time the crew had managed to make it back to the camp, night was already falling. Percy had gone to Chiron to be checked out, by they hadn't been able to make heads or tails of what had hit Percy. Will had also confirmed that Percy still seemed to be in perfect health. That meant one of two things. Either the potion was harmless, it could have been a dud or just not affected him for some reason. Or that whatever it was had a specific trigger or a time delay.  
Annabeth was terrified of the later, and refused to let Percy fall asleep. It had taken him convincing her for an hour that it was safe for him to sleep, that she could check on him in the morning. He had explained that he had absolute faith that Annabeth would have been able to handle any problems that could arise. He trusted her with his life.  
They had kissed goodnight, with Annabeth threatening him that if anything happened to him while she slept she would never forgive her boyfriend.  
After setting an early alarm, Annabeth finally headed to bed. She would wake up early and check on him. She wanted to stay up, but she knew that she had to get some sleep herself. She was exhausted, and if she didn't properly sleep she could miss something tomorrow if a problem did show itself.  
XxXxXxXxX  
In the cold morning, Annabeth hugged her arms close to herself as she padded across the camp softly. Her nerves were racing, but she needed to stay calm. She knew not to worry, Percy would be sleeping in his mess of a bed as usual, no big deal. As she crossed the camp, there were only a few campers up by this time. Some getting in some morning training, others looking for an early breakfast.  
Annabeth side stepped a little boy who seemed lost. He was wearing a large camp half blood T-shirt a few sizes too big for him, and his shorts drooped past his knees. Annabeth figured he must have been a new camper, someone found young. It reminded her of herself when she first got here. Shaking her head, she pushed those memories from her mind. She could check on the kid later, she had to make sure her boyfriend was okay first.  
Approaching his cabin, she knocked on the door but was surprise when it had swung open. His bed was empty, the seats thrown aside like he had gotten up normally. But his cabin was empty. Immediately Annabeth's heart kicked into overdrive. He could NOT be missing again. She would tear down Olympus herself if her boyfriend was missing. She was not going through that ordeal ever again. She began sprinting around the camp, looking for any sign of him. As she crossed back across the cabins, she saw the little boy from earlier crying on the ground. He sat on the ground, wiping away tears as he wailed.  
Annabeth paused. She wanted to keep searching for her boyfriend, but the little boy was tugging at her maternal heartstrings. She couldn't just ignore a child's tears, especially if Percy just happened to be safe somewhere else in camp. There was plenty of places she hadn't checked yet.  
With a sigh, she plastered on a smile as she stopped and knelt down, getting eye level with the little kid.  
“Hey, is everything all right?” She asked gently. “What cabin are you from?” She asked, looking him over to try and find any sign of his parentage. Once she found his cabin, others could take care of him while she looked for her boyfriend.  
He just sniffled. “I don't know. I want my mommy.”  
Annabeth frowned, but she noticed his necklace and her blood turned to ice. There were far too many beads for a child his age. What was worse was she noticed a charm that only one camper had. A gift she had made herself.  
“What's your name?” She asked, dreading the answer.  
“P-Percy Jackson.” The boy answered, still wiping away tears.  
Annabeth's stomach knotted. This wasn't good. This was not good at all. Her boyfriend was a child. A kid. Her blood had already turned to ice, but another, almost scarier thought crept into her mind.  
“D... do you know who I am?” She asked gently.  
The boy looked at her , frowning. “I... I don't...” He paused. “Annie?”  
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Normally she hated people calling her that, but considering his state she could give him a pass. “Annabeth.” Her heart was soaring at the fact he remembered her. That meant not everything was gone. Whatever had changed him hadn't completely removed who he was.  
“Here, let's go see Mr. Chiron, okay?” She said gently, offering a hand. Her hero of a boyfriend was currently a little child. She was in way over her head.  
Percy stepped back, pouting and shaking his head. “No! I wanna see my mom!”  
“Percy...” Annabeth felt her heart breaking. He looked just like a lost little kid looking for his mom. He was a lost little kid looking for his mom.  
“I want my mom!” He said, backing up a little more, looking like he was about to take off into a sprint. “I'm not supposed to talk to strangers... but I know you.” He said, looking confused if he couldn't decide if he remembered her or not.  
Annabeth frowned, unsure of how to deal with this. She was never the best with kids, though she had decent practice from her years at the camp. “Okay, let's go see your mom, okay?” She said after a moment, a plan forming in her mind.  
Percy nodded, taking the hand Annabeth had offered him.  
Gently leading him along, she lead him to one of the fountains. Tossing in a Drachma, she spoke quickly. “Sally Jackson.” She said after her prayer to Iris.  
The mist shimmered, before the image of Sally flickered into existence. Luckily she was already up, and was doing some dishes in the morning.  
Looking up, Sally smiled at seeing Annabeth. “Well hello there dear. Is everything okay?” She asked, turning off the faucet and drying her hands.  
“Hello Sally. Uh... I need you to not freak out. Everything is fine, mostly. But I'm going to need your help here...”  
Before she could explain further, Percy had stepped forward, reaching towards the mist. “Mom!” He called out.  
Sally's expression turned to surprise, a look of fear crossing her face for just a moment, before Annabeth saw her put on a sweet smile. “Hello Percy, is everything okay?”  
Percy just shook his head, balling up his fists. “I want to go home. I don't like it here. I miss you! I want food!” He began to complain, shaking as if he was going to start crying again.  
Sally looked like she wanted to take him into her arms. “Shh... honey. It's okay.” Her voice caught in her throat a bit, as she cast a worry glance over to Annabeth. “Percy, mommy is a little far away right now, okay? Now I need you to be a good boy, and listen to Annabeth. She's going to take care of you today. If you behave, I'll even let her give you some cookies, okay?” Sally reasoned.  
Percy's eyes widened as a toothy grin formed on his face. “Okay! But they have to be blue!”  
Sally smiled, tears threatening the corners of her eyes. “Of course.”  
Annabeth stepped forward. “Thank you Sally, I swear to you on the river Styx, we will get him back to normal.”  
Sally just nodded her head. “I know you will. Just... keep him safe will you? I know he can be a bit of a handful at that age, but he's a good kid. I promise you.” She said, trying to stay strong after seeing her child forced to such a young age again.  
Annabeth smiled softly. “Don't worry, I'm used to dealing with him.”  
Sally just laughed. “I know. Keep me updated, okay? Tell him to call me when he is back to normal so I can see it with my own eyes.” Annabeth nodded. “Oh and... take some pictures? I didn't get to take too many while Gabe was around. It's not the same but...” She trailed off, a playful smile on her face.  
Laughing, Annabeth nodded. “Okay.”  
Sally thought for a moment, noticing the image starting to fade. “If nothing is working try singing!” She called out at the end, just before the image cut out.  
Annabeth froze, she wasn't exactly the best singer. Hopefully that wouldn't come up.  
“Come on Percy, let's go see Chiron then we can get you some breakfast, okay?” She said, holding out her hand.  
Percy stared at her a moment, debating, before he nodded and took her hand, letting her lead him across the camp.  
A few minutes later and Chiron was kneeling down on his front legs, looking at Percy who seemed to think Chiron was the coolest thing. He glanced over at Annabeth. “So it seems we found out the effects of the potion.” He said wryly.  
Annabeth had her heads in her hands. “Not the worst thing that could have happened, but we need to fix him. I can't be dating a 7 year old.” She said, her tone dripping with concern for Percy. She wanted nothing more than to find a way to cure him.  
Chiron offered a small smile. “Certainly not the worst outcome. It seems it was a potion that regressed his age, but his health seems to be perfectly fine. Though his memories seem shaky. He remembered you, but not I nor most of the camp. I fear if we leave him like this for too long he may not regain them all. I'll consult my texts and see what I can come up with to reverse it. For now... supervise him today, will you? You're free from your duties, so just babysit him please. While we have plenty of young campers, I don't feel comfortable treating him like others. Both due to his popularity, and his habit of finding trouble.”  
Annabeth nodded. “I'm on it.” She glanced over at Percy, who was currently wandering over towards one of the ornamental spears in the house. Her eyes widened as she rushed over, scooping him up into her arms. Today was going to be a long day, she just knew it.  
Chiron just shook his head. “Good luck.”  
Percy just looked up at Annabeth, flashing her a spotted grin.  
Annabeth nearly squealed with how cute he looked. “Let's go get some food, okay?”  
Percy threw his arms up in a cheer. “Yay! I want pancakes!”  
Annabeth just laughed, walking out with him in her arms.  
About half an hour later, Percy sat happily in Annabeth's lap. The benches were a little low, so he sat on her lap so he could eat comfortably. She just gently played with his hair, watching him with an amused smirk as he made a mess with his blueberry blue pancakes. He also had blue milk to wash it down with. He seemed to be in heaven.  
Originally Annabeth had considered trying to hide Percy's... change, but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to keep up the con for long. Too many people knew him and would look for him if he just vanished suddenly. Especially if Annabeth was gone as well. So instead, she decided to weather the storm, though she put up with zero crap from anyone about it. If her boyfriend was stuck as a child, she was going to spoil him until they could fix it.  
They had only ate at his table for a little while before the rest of the crew had shown up. Piper had been first, curious as to who the child Annabeth had been eating with was. Her jaw had dropped when she had seen Percy, beginning to freak out before Annabeth could explain. Soon Piper had calmed down as well. She was instantly on board with the idea of spoiling him. At least after being reassured that Percy was in fact okay, and they were working on a way to reverse it. She had taken her seat across from Annabeth, watching Percy with an amused smile.  
Jason had been the next to show up, following his girlfriend. Any amusement that may have come with seeing Percy as a kid was drowned out by concern for him at first. Annabeth had assured him as soon Jason was also mildly amused by Percy, at least until Piper started commenting that she wish she could see Jason as a kid.  
Not long after, Frank and Hazel had shown up. Frank had been too shocked to properly speak, while Hazel had reacted similarly to Jason. Soon though, she had moved over with a napkin and cleaned up the mess Percy was making with a gentle smile.  
Leo had been the last to show up, having slept in late. He took it in stride the best, already getting a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Oh man, I have the best toys for him back in my cabin.” Before Annabeth could protest, Leo had already run off, cackling, leaving Calypso who pretty much reacted like Hazel, beginning to mother Percy.  
Piper had taken Percy into her lap so Annabeth could get her own breakfast.  
They had all tried to gauge how much of each of them Percy remembered, and were amused by the results.  
He called Piper “the pretty lady”, and was rather attached to her. Jason he had quickly announced that he didn't like and called him “Stupid.” This caused Jason to gasp in shock as Piper burst out into uncontrolled laughter.  
He called Hazel “Hazy”, and just kept calling Frank cool. He liked them a lot.  
When Leo had returned, Percy had remembered his name, but was much more fascinated by the fact he had two new actions figures to play with, ones that would actually beat up each other on their own.  
He referred to Calypso as Cally the entire time, and just said she smelled nice and reminded him of his mom.  
Eventually Annabeth had finished her breakfast, pouting slightly with all the attention Percy was giving the others while he didn't seem to remember her. “You still remember me, right?” She asked, attempting to hide the hurt in her voice.  
Percy had just climbed in her lap, giving her that toothy grin. “You're annabee... annabe... Annabeth! I remember that you're the best of them all.” He said with a snicker.  
Annabeth just grinned. “Good answer. Now let's go play.” She said, helping him up as she took his hand and began to lead him towards the beach. She figured she needed to keep him as far away as she could front the archery range, lava wall, and the arena. With his luck, too much could go wrong.  
They had decided to take shifts in baby sitting him, letting the others either try to help Chiron come up with a cure, or attend to their various duties throughout the day.  
Piper and Jason had decided to take the first shift. Piper was chatting with him in the nearby field, teaching him to make flower crowns while Jason helped. Itching to get some practice in, Jason had moved off to the side to practice his sword play. This of course immediately drew Percy's attention.  
Piper glared at her boyfriend as she held Percy's shoulders. They couldn't let him use a real sword, and they were just glad he hadn't realized he had one in his pocket. Eventually after a few tears from Percy, and some quick thinking, Jason had managed to find two wooden practice swords.  
Of course Jason just blocked Percy's attack, but apparently losing ten years hadn't done much to curb his enthusiasm. The little boy had been swinging with all his strength, and had no qualms about bruising the hell out of Jason's legs. Eventually Jason had taken the dive and let Percy “defeat” him. Percy stood with one foot on Jason's chest, holding his wooden sword up. Piper of course had taken a picture and clapped her hands. She had made sure to get a camera from Leo right away, there was no way this was going to pass without evidence.  
Eventually though their shift ended, and Frank and Hazel had tagged in. Frank had shown him his ability to change into animals, which instantly made him Percy's new favorite boy. Hazel had just laughed, before she had an idea. She quickly made her way across the camp, leaving Percy to continue his piggy back ride on a bear. Normally a poor choice for someone in charge a kid to make, but Frank was responsible.  
A few minutes she had returned, a redhead in tow.  
“Oh my gods. It's true.” Rachel had said suddenly. Without hesitation she ran over, lifting up Percy and swinging him in a circle. Percy just giggled and cheered, happy.  
Setting him down, she giggled as he wandered around dizzy.  
Meanwhile Hazel had finished setting up what she had brought. She had gotten some large pads of paper, and a punch of paint from Rachel. Immediately Percy's eyes widened and ran over, eager to start painting. He was about to start, when he paused and set down the brush. He stood up, holding his hands together as he looked up at Rachel and Hazel with large pleading eyes. “Is it okay if I use your colors and paint?” He asked politely. “My mom says I'm supposed to ask first.”  
Rachel and Hazel just melted into maternal jellies. “Of course.” Rachel managed to say, laughing as she saw Percy's eyes light up like it was Christmas. He quickly gave both her and Hazel a hug before he settled down and started painting. He was chaotic, but having a blast. He even had Frank change into a few animals for him to paint a portrait of, which Frank was willing to oblige.  
Rachel and Hazel settled down, chatting happily about how cute Percy was being while they worked on their own art.  
A little while passed, and Leo showed up, dragging a rather large bag behind him. Percy had made an absolute mess, and had spots of paint all over his clothes and cheeks.  
At the sight of the bag, Frank had stood up and moved in front of Percy, just to be safe.  
Leo waved him off. “Relax, these are safe. I'm dealing with a kid after all.”  
Squatting down, he grinned at Percy. “Do you wanna see the coolest toys?”  
Once again Percy's eyes widened, nodding eagerly.  
Leo just grinned and let out a whistle. The bag opened up and a small army of toys began marching out in a line, one at a time. Percy gasped with each one. “Those are so cool!”  
Leo grinned. “I know right?”  
Hazel paused. “Did you make all those today? You only found out about Percy being a kid a few hours ago...”  
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. “Uhh... I may have been working on these for a while.” Hazel just shook her head with a small smile. Percy knelt down, looking at them. “Can I play with them?” He asked.  
Calypso just walked up, smiling. “He's surprisingly well behaved.”  
Leo nodded. “Go wild! But check this out. Number 1, kick number 2!” The small figures hummed with life as one of them walked over and planted a kick in the chest of another, knocking it onto the ground.  
Percy practically exploded with happiness. Immediately Percy had divide out the figurines between Leo and himself as they started shouting commands, getting the two sets of robots to fight each other.  
Joining Hazel and Rachel, Calypso sat down with a smile watching Percy.  
“It seemed he was much better behaved back when he still listened to his mom.” Piper remarked with a laugh. Calypso and Hazel both laughed as they watched the boys play. Before long, even Frank had gotten involved, being drawn in at the idea of commanding an army.  
They continued to fight, calling out commands. Eventually though, one figure took two many hits and when it was punched, exploded into smaller gears and sprayed some oil around.  
Immediately Percy burst out into tears, wailing. In a heart beat, Piper had closed the distance and wrapped him up in a tight hug. “Shh it's okay honey.”  
Percy just continued to cry, before looking at Leo. “I-I-I'm S-Sorry!” He choked out between sobs.  
Leo was just staring wide eyed. He wasn't the best at dealing with crying kids. “It's fine! I can fix it. They were made to get broken after a while.”  
Percy slowly stopped crying, sniffling. “R-Really? You aren't mad?”  
Leo nodded, grinning. “This is a battle right? The robots are going to break, don't worry about it. I'll fix them up tonight and they'll be just like new!”  
Percy wiped away some tears. He was quiet for a moment, making them all pause. “3! Kick 5 in the face!” Soon the battle had started up again, every once in a while a figurine breaking.  
Piper had moved back to Rachel and Calypso. The girls were giggling at Percy's joyous expression once again.  
After a few moments though, Piper's smile faded. “They can fix him, right? Like, don't get me wrong. Percy is super cute as a kid, but I miss his normal laugh. Plus I don't think I can handle baby sitting duty for years.”  
Rachel and Hazel's faces both turned more somber. “Chiron will find a way. Magic made him younger, that means there's a way to reverse it.” Hazel explained.  
Just then Annabeth had walked up. “It's lunch time.” She told everyone, looking over Percy carefully. He still seemed fine, which caused her to let out a sigh of relief. In truth, she didn't want to leave his side at all, but she knew the best thing she could do was to help Chiron with research.  
Percy stood up and rushed over. “Annabeth! You missed it! Pipes made me a crown! Then I beat up Jason!” This caused a smirk to play at her lips. Even as a kid, it seemed Percy didn't change much. “Then Frank turned into a massive dog!”  
“Bear.” Hazel chimed in helpfully.  
“Then Hazy brought back Ra... raa...Red! She brought over Red who let me paint! Then Leo showed his toys! They are SO COOL! They can kick and everything!” He continued to rattle off.  
Annabeth just patted his hair. “That sounds like you had fun.”  
Percy nodded. “But I missed you.”  
Annabeth looked away, blushing slightly as Piper and Calypso burst out into giggles at her expression.  
Finally noticing his state, she frowned. “You're all messy.” She said, shooting an accusing look at Rachel and Leo, who both shrunk away slightly.  
This time Calypso stood up, walking over and grabbing Percy's hand. “Come on, let's go get cleaned up then we can some lunch, okay?”  
“Okay!” He said happily as he followed Calypso back towards camp.  
“Any progress?” Piper asked Annabeth carefully, noticing the blonde's worried gaze at Percy's retreating form.  
Annabeth nodded. “We found a promising lead. It's out of my understanding so Chiron is trying to follow it. Thanks for watching him, he can't sit still as a teen, I doubt he could sit in a library as a kid.”  
She paused, before snapping. “That reminds me.” She quickly made her way over towards Percy's cabin, pulling out a coin. Tossing it into the fountain she offered a prayer to Iris.  
“Thalia Grace please.”  
After a moment the mist shimmered and revealed a raven haired girl packing up a tent.  
Thalia noticed Annabeth and grinned. “Hey Annabeth, what's up?”  
Annabeth's shoulders drooped as her gaze fell. A heavy sigh escaped her as she felt the tough facade she had been keeping up starting to crack.  
Immediately Thalia's grin shifted to a look of concern as she dropped her pack, focusing solely on Annabeth. “What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Percy? Did he-”  
Quickly shaking her head, Annabeth took another breath.  
“We didn't have a fight... but it is Percy.” She said. She paused for a moment. “I need your help.”  
Thalia nodded. “Of course. Now will you tell me what's going on?”  
Annabeth nodded. “Well, you see we kinda ran into these monsters. They were having a garage sale or something...”  
Thalia quirked an eyebrow.  
“Anyway, one of them threw a potion at me, but Percy just had to be a hero and jumped in front.”  
Immediately Thalia tensed. “Is he okay?” She asked quickly. She turned her head, barking an order at some other hunters.  
Annabeth's gaze dropped. “Physically... mostly. He's... he's turned into a kid.” She spit out.  
Thalia staggered, clearly not expecting that sentence. Her gaze rapidly shifted between amused and concerned, before settling on some mix of the two. “He's a kid?”  
Annabeth nodded. “Like 7 years old.”  
“So not much changed?” Thalia said with a grin.  
Annabeth's eyes snapped to her adoptive sister's, glaring at her. “This isn't funny! I'm so worried. What if we can't fix it? What if he's stuck? All because I was too slow to rea-”  
“Annabeth!” Thalia interrupted loudly, snapping her out of her spiral. “I'm sorry, I know this isn't a joke. Trust me, I want to help him too. However I can. What can I do, I know you called for a reason.”  
Annabeth nodded, running a hand through her hair. “Chiron has an idea of something that might work. But he needs a certain ingredient, a rare rabbit that is in the area... I remember hearing you guys were close. You are hunters after all... I was hoping maybe...”  
Thalia just grinned. “No worries, we got this. Artemis just left off for some important meeting, leaving us on break for a little. I was actually thinking about swinging by so I'm in the area. Now describe this rabbit to me again?”  
Annabeth quickly went through the description Chiron had given her.  
Thalia nodded. “That's what I thought. I know exactly what you are talking about. I'll snag one over and be there in a few hours.”  
Annabeth let out a shaky breath of relief. “Thank you Thalia... seriously. I just...”  
Grinning, the punk hunter just offered the blonde a warm smile. “Hey, it's okay. We'll fix this. I'll bring you this rabbit and we'll get whatever else Chiron needs. Now I need to go, have fun baby sitting!” Thalia called out before moving a hand through the message, ending it.  
Feeling a new surge of confidence, Annabeth moved back towards the dining hall.  
This time she saw Percy sitting on Calypso's lap while chewing on a sandwich. When Annabeth showed up his eyes lit up and he quickly hopped down, running over and giving her a bit hug.  
Smirking, Annabeth pat his head gently, unable to return the hug since he was wrapped around her legs. “I missed you too. Now finish your lunch, okay?”  
Percy nodded, quickly running back and clambering onto Calypso to eat again.  
Annabeth sat down next to him, dropping her head into her arms with a small sigh. She found Percy absolutely adorable as a kid, but the more time that passed, the more she missed his more mature goofy smirk. She just wanted her seaweed brain back.  
Gently moving over, Piper rubbed Annabeth's back reassuringly.  
Lunch came and went, and soon Percy was running through the camp again, fascinated by all the cool “toys.” Leo had to personally steer him away from the rock wall, explaining that Annabeth would throw him into the lava if he so much as let Percy break a sweat from the heat of it.  
Not watching where he was going, a few minutes later the boy crashed into the legs of someone, bouncing off and landing on his butt. He sniffled once, holding up his scratched hands. It was clear he was trying not to cry.  
In a moment Annabeth had swooped to his side, gently brushing dirt off his hands.  
“Watch it ki- Oh, Percy? I heard what had happened.” Clarisse's voice rang out, a teasing lilt in it.  
“Not today, La Rue.” Annabeth warned.  
Clarisse just laughed. “What? I heard he's fine. He's just finally acting more like his age. It seems appropriate.”  
Annabeth stood up, her fists clenching as her hand inched towards the dagger she had on her belt.  
Clarisse stared at him for a moment longer, before sighing. “Just... let me know if I can help, okay? It... wouldn't be fun pulverizing him as a kid.”  
This disarmed Annabeth. She nodded, surprised. “Okay.”  
Just huffing, the daughter of Ares walked back towards her cabin.  
Annabeth watched her, tilting her head. Had she actually come to check on Percy?  
“So It's true.” Another voice rang out, causing Annabeth to turn around. “Percy really is a child again.” Reyna said, a curious brow raised.  
Annabeth ran a hand through her hair again. “Yeah. We're trying to fix that.”  
Reyna frowned, crossing her arms as she looked at Percy. “You shouldn't run around camp, you could get hurt, you know? You should behave yourself and stay quiet so they can help you.”  
Percy ducked his head, stepping behind Annabeth and hiding behind her, peaking around her legs.  
Annabeth rested a hand on his head, gently playing with his hair. She shot a mild glare at Reyna. “You're scaring him, you don't need to be so strict with him. He doesn't know better.” She defended him.  
Reyna raised an eyebrow. “And you're babying him. He should be better behaved than that at least. I saw him running all across camp. There are too many dangers here for a kid to be running around. Even campers his age are better behaved.”  
Annabeth's eyes narrowed slightly. “They also have had the opportunity to learn what it's like at this camp. From what I can tell, he's still used to living at home with his mom. This is probably like a normal summer camp to him.”  
Reyna just rolled her eyes. “You're too soft with him.” She paused for a moment, glancing down at the boy staring at her terrified behind the blonde. Realizing he was making eye contact with Reyna, he quickly let out a small eek before hiding behind Annabeth again. Reyna frowned, before squatting down.  
“Hey, I'm sorry for scaring you. Would you like a lollipop?” She said, producing a sucker she had grabbed from the camp store. Strict or not, Percy was still her friend and she was worried about him in such a state. She did want to help him after all. He had done so much for the world, he didn't deserve this.  
Percy paused, looking up at Annabeth confused. Seeing her nod with a smile, Percy quickly stepped out from behind her and walked over to Reyna slowly reaching out and grabbing it. He grinned at the blue color as he took off the wrapper. After a moment he had paused, just before it was in his mouth.  
“Thank you Reyna.” He said politely before popping it in his mouth. Reyna grinned, messing up his hair a little before standing up.  
Annabeth grinned at her approvingly, before placing her hand on Percy's back and leading him back towards the beach. Looking over her shoulder at Reyna, she grinned. “We're having a picnic on the beach. Join us.” She said, not really leaving room for discussion.  
Reyna opened her mouth to protest but found Annabeth already walking away, leading Percy along. Letting out a sigh, she adjusted her hair before following behind Annabeth.  
When Reyna caught up with Annabeth after changing, she saw Percy already playing in the surf near the water's edge. Hazel had laid out a large blanket while Frank, Jason, and Piper were all setting out food they had gotten from the pavilion. Annabeth stood on the edge of the surf, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her shirt she wore over her swimsuit. Idly, some part of Reyna's mind registered the fact that shirt was too large to be hers and was probably one of Percy's.  
Leo was off to the side, assembling something that was looking suspiciously like an ice cream machine, and she even saw Will and Nico off to the side, resting in the shade of the nearby trees. They were chatting happily, bringing a small smile to Reyna's face. She had come to appreciate any time she could see a smile on the boy's face after all they went through. Opting to take a seat near Frank and Hazel, she watched Piper stand up, an amused smirk shot towards Annabeth.  
Piper quickly made her way over to Annabeth with a wry smile. “Indecisive?”  
Annabeth jumped slightly, having been too lost in her own thoughts to properly register Piper's approach. “Piper!” She squeaked out, before shaking her head. “I'm just not sure how safe I need to be with him. He has no idea he can control water, but I doubt his father would let him drown. He wants to play in the water, but I'm scared if I let him out of my sight he's going to end up playing at the bottom of the sea and we'd never be able to get him back.” She explained with a frustrated sigh. The only thing that could make her worry about her seaweed brain more, would be if he lost control of his powers. Normally she knew he was powerful enough to find a way out of any situation, but she couldn't even count on that anymore.  
Shaking her head, Piper threw an arm over Annabeth's shoulder. “Relax. It's just a kid playing on the beach. I'm sure the water will still behave for him, and the Naiads wouldn't let anything happen to him.”  
Annabeth looked at Piper, before slowly nodding. “You're probably right.”  
“Of course I am.” Piper said with a snicker. It was amusing that the one thing that could cause the level-headed, always prepared Annabeth to get flustered was her boyfriend. Love truly was a scary thing. “See? They're looking out for hi-” Piper started out gesturing towards the Naiads who were approaching the little Percy with a smile. She was cut off as one of them quickly grabbed Percy, before yanking him deep into the water. Both Piper and Annabeth stood next to each other, jaws dropped.  
“Surely they're just playing, right?” Piper asked with a nervous chuckle.  
There was the sound of scrambling as Jason stumbled up to them. “Was that Percy? Did he just get pulled to the bottom of the sea? Can he even breathe underwater right now?”  
Annabeth's hand fluttered around her body, looking for any sort of knife. “That's it. I'm killing them. I'm killing every Naiad in this entire lake.”  
Piper was suddenly grateful bikini's were devoid of many opportunities to stash weapons, as she wasn't sure Annabeth needed a weapon on her until they figured out what was happening with Percy.  
“Fra-” Annabeth started, pausing as she saw the large boy sprinting down the beach. Getting as far as he could on two feet, she saw him jump before changing mid air into a dolphin. Just as he was about to dive under, the water in the lake exploded upwards.  
Annabeth nearly collapsed in relief as she saw Percy laughing and smiling, holding onto a harness as he rode a sea creature. It was fine. The Naiads had just given him a ride on... a...  
“Is he on a shark?” Leo asked, raising his goggles and looking up.  
Annabeth felt her blood turn to ice again. “They put a child on a shark.” She stormed over to Leo, holding out her hand. “Give me the sharpest thing you have on you. We're having seafood tonight.” She muttered, expectantly.  
Leo backed up, raising his hands. “I'm not sure you should be around anything sharp, and that's coming from me.”  
Piper quickly made her way over to Annabeth, resting a hand on her friends shoulder as she let a little charm speak slip into her words. “Relax, Annabeth. They're just playing. Percy is having fun and they aren't putting him in any serious danger.” Piper felt a tad guilty on using her powers on Annabeth, but she knew that Annabeth wasn't thinking clearly due to the day she's been having, and she was also pretty sure Chiron wouldn't appreciate a war between demigods and Naiads. Nor would Percy's father for that matter.  
Annabeth glared at Piper for a moment. “It's a shark! And don't charm speak me.” She snapped, before she sighed and dropped her shoulders. “Fine. But we're getting him off a shark. I'm not dealing with that today.”  
Piper nodded, turning back to see Frank already letting Percy climb on his back as a dolphin, squeaking happily as he began to drag Percy around the lake.  
Placing both her hands on Annabeth's shoulders, Piper shoved her back towards the blanket. “Now you need to sit down, have a sandwich, and just relax.”  
Annabeth grumbled a bit, but listened to her friend, finally taking a seat. Percy was in Frank's hands, and he was responsible. The blonde had barely sat for a few seconds before she found a plate with sandwiches and chips being placed with her hands, a reassuring smile from Hazel helping ease her nerves.  
Annabeth let herself be distracted by the ebb and flow of the conversation, her eyes still practically scanning Percy every few seconds. She still didn't trust the naiads, but Frank was on duty and Annabeth trusted him. He was too big of a softie to put him in any danger. Plus, he had that whole descendant of the sea god thing going on for him too. The water was his terrain.  
Eventually Hazel flagged down Frank, telling him to get some food himself too.  
Frank swam one last lap before leading Percy back to the beach. Setting him down, Frank changed back and gratefully took the towel from his girlfriend as he began to dry off.  
Annabeth quickly walked over, squatting down and toweling off Percy. It seemed he didn't have perfect control of his powers, considering he was still wet after swimming. Percy just giggled and squirmed as he tried to free himself but Annabeth just laughed and kept up her assault with the fluffy towel.  
Eventually satisfied that Percy was dry enough to not soak everything on their blanket, she led him over to the food.  
Without hesitation, Percy began to pile food onto his plate, with a little help from the others, before he wandered over and sat in Annabeth's lap and began to happily eat it. Letting her eyes shut, feeling him safe within her grasp, Annabeth tried to relax. This day had been taxing in so many ways, she was ready for it to be over. Last she heard, they were just waiting on the delivery from Thalia for the final ingredient before they could hopefully fix Percy.  
Percy would be safe. He would be back to normal soon. She would have her normal seaweed brain back. She missed him so much. It just wasn't the same.  
Eventually it was getting darker, so everyone began to pack up their stuff. They would have a bonfire tonight, so they had to get ready for it. Frank had been watching Percy while the rest packed up, until Leo had gotten his help dismantling the ice cream machine he had made for a desert for them all.  
Percy was standing in place, obediently. His mom had told him to listen to Annabeth, so he would! He would stay put while they finished putting away their toys. Then Annabeth had promised him something yummy. But that was when he saw it.  
He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was small and furry. Biting his lip, Percy felt a conflict inside him. He knew he should behave and listen to Annabeth, but he was so curious. He couldn't get the little creature out of his mind.  
The creature squeaked at him, before turning and running towards the woods.  
He HAD to know what that creature was. Turning to Annabeth, who was busy helping out Hazy anyway, he muttered a “I'll be right back.” He told her he would be gone, so it was okay, right? His mom always said she just wanted to know where he was.  
Turning, he ran off into the forest, chasing the squeaking creature.  
XxXxXxXxX  
“Thanks for waiting!” Frank said politely to Percy, turning back around. He dropped the wrench he had been holding, feeling his heart stop. “Percy?” He called quietly, looking around. The kid was gone.  
Annabeth was going to be furious. He was dead. This was the end of his life. Not that stupid stick, no, it was losing her child-boyfriend.  
“Annabeth?”  
“Hmm?” She asked, a smile on her face from Piper's joke.  
“I can't find Percy.” Frank admitted.  
Instantly the group froze in place. They all looked to Annabeth after a moment.  
“What?” Annabeth tried to keep her voice calm and level.  
“I turned around for a moment, and he said he was going to stay still, but he's gone...”  
Annabeth just dropped her head into her hands. Why couldn't today have gone easy, just for once?  
“Percy's in the woods!” Juniper said, suddenly emerging from the forest. She looked a bit out of breath.  
“I heard what happened, and I just saw him roaming through there, and I don't think he should be alo-” She trailed off as Annabeth sprinted past her, calling out a combination of thanks, and Greek curses to just about everything.  
Annabeth stumbled through the trees. He couldn't have gotten far. He was just a kid, and it wasn't like he was trying to run away. She figured he must have found something that sparked his interest. But why today of all days. They had stocked the woods with creatures for practicing hunting just the other day. The woods were far too dangerous for a kid to be wandering in a lone.  
Feeling her heart rate kick into over drive, Annabeth was torn between shouting Percy's name for his attention, and staying quiet to avoid stirring any threats that could be nearby. That was when she heard a loud wail.  
XxXxXxXxX  
Percy scrambled backwards, staring at the large doggie growling at him. It was utterly massive. It had a muzzle on it, but it's sharp claws were still free.  
“Mommy! Annabeth!” He cried out desperately, stumbling over branches away from it.  
The beast let out a muffled roar as it lunged, swiping a claw at Percy.  
Just before it could have struck him, he felt something wrap him up and tackle him away. He let out a short wail as the forest floor scratched him up, but he was suddenly held tightly against someone. All he could see was a mess of blonde hair in his face.  
Clutching Percy close, Annabeth was a bit wide-eyed and frantic. She had just barely made it in time, if she hadn't gotten to Percy...  
Shaking her head, she didn't have time to dwell on that. They had nearly died countless times before now. She needed to deal with this beast first. Thankfully it was muzzled, but she was still unarmed.  
Another muffled roar, and the beast lunged again.  
Riptide sprang to her mind, realizing Percy must still have it on him, but it was too late. She didn't have time to find it as the beast lunged. Turning around, she huddled over Percy to protect him and braced for the impact.  
But it never came.  
Peaking over her shoulder, she saw 3 silvery arrows sticking out of the neck of the hound. It stumbled around in protest, snarling the best it could.  
It raised it claws over Annabeth for one last attack when Annabeth smelt the familiar smell of ozone. A second later and the beast erupted into a flash of electricity, before it crumpled to dust on the ground.  
Thalia emerged, looking pissed off. For good measure, she shot one last arrow into the beast.  
She immediately ran over to Annabeth, carefully examining her, and the boy for cuts.  
“Are you two all right?” She asked, a desperate panic in her voice.  
Annabeth nodded. “Don't worry, I'm fine.” Stepping back, she was about to check Percy over when she felt Thalia pull her into her arms for a very tight hug.  
“That was too close.” Thalia mumbled softly, running her hand through Annabeth's hair for a moment. Getting her fill of assurance that Annabeth was in fact fine, Thalia pulled back and shifted her gaze to the little boy.  
Little Percy was just standing there, sniffling as he cried and wiped away tears with balled up fists. “I just want to go home. I don't like this anymore.”  
Thalia felt her heartstrings tug at the scene. The boy she usually found both infuriating and admirable was reduced to a terrified kid. She may have sworn of romantic love, but that didn't mean that her maternal instincts were gone. It reminded her of when she had just found Annabeth with Luke.  
The sound of a branch breaking somewhere near by, had all of three of them jump. In a moment, Annabeth had Percy in her arms again, as she fished around his pocket for riptide. Thalia summoned her bow again, spinning around. “Now is not the time.” She snarled, not in the mood for any more monsters.  
“Peace.” A girl said, stepping out with her hands raised. It was a young girl, dressed in similar hunting gear to Thalia.  
Recognizing one of the other huntresses, Thalia stowed her bow. “Tell them to go set up camp. We'll be staying for a few days. I'll let Artemis know of our plans.” She ordered. Thalia watched the girl nod before she turned and vanished back into the woods.  
Turning back, Thalia saw Annabeth had managed to stop Percy from crying. At the moment she held him in her arms, his legs around her waist as he wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his head into her neck.  
“I've got the rabbit. Let's go back.” Thalia offered gently, carefully watching Annabeth's expression. It was pretty obvious how stressed and emotionally drained Annabeth was. Thalia was extremely worried about Percy, and she could hardly imagine how Annabeth must be feeling after seeing her boyfriend in that state, then almost losing him moments ago.  
Annabeth just nodded meekly before she began to walk back. She held Percy just a little bit closer to her, whispering soft reassurances in his ear. “You're so brave. You can go home soon.” She said quietly.  
Before long, Annabeth emerged out of the woods, seeing the rest of their little crew. Immediately they rushed towards her, looking both at her and Percy.  
“We were looking for you, then the hunters told us you were safe and leaving. Are both of you okay?” Hazel asked worriedly.  
Annabeth nodded. “We're fine. We just... need to fix him soon.” She said gently, hoping no one noticed her voice cracking. Judging by their expressions, they did.  
An hour later, and Chiron was preparing the potion while Annabeth sat with Percy around the campfire. She had wanted him to get some sleep, but Chiron insisted that he have the potion before he slept for the night, citing that he didn't know if the spell could be worse if Percy went to sleep again. He doubted it was the case, but Annabeth figured better safe than sorry. She wouldn't gamble with Percy's life.  
Plus, the boy had been uncharacteristically quiet since the incident, so she had hoped to raise his spirits. It seemed the campfire had done just that, luckily. Percy was happily dancing in front of her as they all worked through their sing-alongs. His shirt was stained with the remains of the smores he had consumed, and a stain from when he had gotten a bit too eager drinking his blue coke.  
Aside from having to herd him away from the fire he kept wandering too close to, Annabeth was glad to see him laughing again. She just desperately wished to hear his normal deeper laugh that she had come to adore.  
Piper had an arm around her shoulder, reassuringly rubbing it as she also laughed at the young Percy cheering as he waved his arms, currently getting a piggyback ride from Thalia.  
Thankfully, Chiron had approached them with a small cup half way through one of their songs.  
“It's done. I've had all the best brewers at the camp double check, this should fix him up swiftly.” She handed Annabeth the cup. “Make sure he drinks all of it, to be safe.”  
Annabeth could hardly contain her excitement. She had almost started crying at just finally hearing the good news.  
“Percy!” She called out, grabbing the boy's attention as he ran over quickly, stumbling a bit.  
“What's up Annabeth?” He asked eagerly, before a yawn escaped him. He rubbed his eyes, swaying slightly.  
She had noticed his dancing had slowed down recently, she figured his busy day was finally wearing down even his stamina.  
“I need you to do me a favor.” She said gently, kneeling down to be eye level with him.  
Yawning again, Percy nodded. “Okay. Mommy told me to listen to you anyway.” He muttered, still rubbing his eyes.  
Biting her lip, Annabeth put aside how utterly adorable he looked at the moment. Though, judging by the camera flash that happen to her right, Piper had managed to grab a picture to remember.  
“I need you to drink this for me. This will help you feel better.”  
Percy nodded, reaching for the cup. He smelled it, before he scrunched up his face and shoved the cup back into Annabeth's hands. “That smells bad! I don't want to!” He muttered defiantly.  
Suppressing the frustration, Annabeth tried to stay calm. Screaming at the child that he desperately needed to drink it to get back to normal and give her her seaweed brain back wouldn't help the situation. Desperation called for desperate measures. “If you drink it all, you can have another smore, and on our way back to bed I promise to grab you some blue candy. I won't even tell Sally!” She promised.  
His eyes widened. “Do you promise? I don't want to get in trouble.” He said, his eyes slightly more awake, and skeptical now.  
Annabeth nodded, holding out her pinky. “I pinky promise.”  
Percy stared at her for a moment, before hooking his pinky with hers for the promise. “You promised.” He said, before taking the cup.  
Annabeth just let out a sigh of relief. So yeah, she bribed a child with a bunch of sweets right before bed to make her life easier. So sue her.  
Percy sniffed it once before grimacing again. But he looked at Annabeth, and then managed to quickly drink all of it. He blanched, very clearly unhappy with the taste.  
Annabeth quickly messed with his hair, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Good job! I'm proud of you.”  
Percy just grinned. “You promised!” Nodding, Annabeth turned to make another smore when she found Piper handing her a freshly prepared one already. Flashing her a grateful smile, she gave it to the eager child who immediately began making a mess as he tried to eat it too quickly.  
Laughing, Annabeth just leaned back and tried to hold back the tears of relief. Percy had drank the potion. He would be fine. He would finally be okay.  
A little while later and it was getting late. Normally they would all be up a little longer, but Percy was yawning constantly and sitting patiently at her side.  
Turning to her friends, she patted Percy's head. “It's probably well past his bedtime. I'm going to get him in to bed. I'll see you all tomorrow with Percy as good as new hopefully.” They all said goodbye, many of them giving Percy a hug.  
Walking back, she was surprised to feel Percy stop walking. “You promised me candy.” He muttered, holding his ground with his tired eyes surprisingly defiant.  
Annabeth paused, she had forgotten about that. The camp store would be closed by now. Chewing her lip for a moment, she quickly considered her options.  
Scooping up Percy into her arms to save time, she quickly made her way over and found the pair of twins she was looking for. “Connor!” She called out quickly, getting his attention. “I need a favor. I need you to get me some blue candy. I made a promise.” She explained, glancing at Percy who had perked up at the mention of candy.  
Connor had a grin on. “You'll owe me.” He said.  
Annabeth shivered at the thought. Being in debt to the stolls was usually a bad thing, one that almost always lead to getting in trouble. “Fine.”  
Connor saluted, before quickly disappearing into the night. A few minutes later, Connor returned with a bag of candy, amazingly all of it was blue.  
Raising it to Annabeth, he smirked. “Your order madam”  
Annabeth shifted Percy to rest in one arm as her other one fell to the handle of her dagger. “I swear if there is even one piece of candy that's slightly off in that bag, you will wish you were lucky enough to be forced back into being a kid instead. Do not try me tonight.”  
Connor raised his hands in a peace offering. “Hey! This is legit. Didn't even steal it. Tonight, at least. Just trying to get a kid some candy, a noble cause if I've ever heard of one.” He paused, before his smile shifted from mischievous to genuine. “Besides, I do want to see Percy back to normal too. Come on, I'm not heartless.” He offered.  
Taken back a bit by his honestly, Annabeth nodded. “Thank you, for real.”  
Connor just waved as he went back to join his brother.  
Annabeth handed a few pieces to Percy as they made the long trek back to his cabin.  
“What now?” Percy asked, as well as he could with his mouth on a lollipop.  
“It's past your bedtime. I let you stay up, but you need to sleep.”  
Percy's eyes widened as he began to squirm in her arms. She was forced to set him down to avoid dropping him.  
“No! I'm having too much fun! I want to go back with Thals and Pipes and all of them! We're having too much fun!” He exclaimed, though his point was weakened by the big yawn he broke into.  
“Percy...” Annabeth tried gently, at her wits end.  
“No!” He said, stomping his foot.  
Annabeth was about to scream. That's when Sally's words popped in her mind. Looking around, she was glad she was alone. “Come on Percy.” Scooping him up, she began to sing softly. She wasn't exactly a good singer, but she hoped it would be enough.  
“The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else's lake...” She started to sing softly, swaying him slightly as they walked. Sure the little mermaid wasn't exactly a lullaby, but she knew he knew the song, and it was one of the few songs she knew all the words to from the number of times they cuddled watching the movie while relaxing in his apartment.  
Percy's protests gradually grew weaker and weaker, until he was dozing off on her shoulder.  
Managing to get him into the cabin, she set him down on the bed and pulled off his shoes and socks to try and get him a little comfier. Tucking him in, she leaned down to kiss his head.  
“I love you Percy. Please go back to normal. I miss you, and I need you.” She whispered gently.  
Turning back, she moved to go back to her own cabin when she heard his tired, and slightly scared voice. “Annabeth?”  
“Yes honey?” She asked, turning around and kneeling next to the bed.  
“Can you stay please? I'm... scared. I don't like this cabin. It's too big and dark.” He muttered.  
Annabeth paused, looking at his exhausted, yet scared face. Nodding she quickly kicked off her own shoes and rummaged around his cabin for a spare pair of sweatpants. Quickly changing in his bathroom, he climbed into the bed with him.  
Percy nestled up against her, and within moments he was fast asleep.  
Kissing his forehead one last time, she watched him for a moments, running a hand through his hair. Before long she found herself drifting off to sleep to, praying with all she had that he would be back to normal soon.  
Annabeth was more than thrilled to find herself waking up in her favorite pair of strong arms, with a deeper voice gently saying her name.  
“Morning Annabeth.” He muttered, a little confused but hardly complaining.  
Annabeth just threw her arms around his neck, quickly kissing him.  
“Welcome back, Percy.”


	2. Head Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Punk!Annabeth Momma'sboy!Percy  
Annabeth didn't mind being alone, people just disappointed or hurt her, so she was fine on her own with her friend Piper. When she bumps into a guy at the library that seems unphased by her tough girl act, she admits she's a bit interested.

Walking through the dusty asiles of the public library, Annabeth hummed to herself. She fiddled with some loose change in her jean jacket, humming a song from the concert she had gotten her band shirt at. She had needed another book to help her school project.  
She was at the local library, and it was pretty late in the evening so she doubted she'd run into anyone here. Which was good, since she wasn't in the mood to deal with any of their annoying ass comments. "Oooo the tough girl likes to read? Working on kids books finally?"   
The mocking had been the same since she was a child with dyslexia and struggled to read.   
She could understand it just fine once she processed the words. She just needed a little extra time to get the letters right, and that frustration combined with her short temper meant it was usually safer to just study at home.  
Besides, Annabeth liked reading honestly. Romance novels were her guilty pleasure, and she didn't have to worry about books being complicated like people were. They didn't betray her, they wouldn't hurt her.  
As she made her way through the rows and rows of shelves, she finally found the section she was looking for. Greek mythology.  
A few minutes of looking for the book later, she finally found it shoved to the back of the top shelf.  
Reaching up for it, she let out a grunt of frustration when she only managed to barely graze the spine of it with her finger tips.  
"Fucking…" she cussed under her breath.  
Glancing around, she didn't see a step stool anywhere.  
Raising a foot, she tentatively placed in on the shelf but with just the slightest weight it started to buckle and protest a bit. She doubted it would hold long enough to get the book.  
Reaching up onto her tiptoes again, she brushed her fingers against the spine, hoping to tip it off balance enough to grab or something.  
Just as she was just about to stack up books to stand on, another arm reached up, grabbing it rather comfortably and pulling it down.  
"This one, right?"  
"Yeah." Annabeth answered instinctively, before jumping at how close the guy was. It wasn't like he was trying to invade her space, but rather was just trying to get the book.  
"Here." He said offering it to her with a friendly smile.  
That caught Annabeth off guard as she took the book, giving him a once over. He had shaggy black hair, and a lopsided smile. He was wearing old jeans, a sweater rolled up to his elbows. Out of the bottom of the sweater a dress shirt was peaking out. He was kinda cute, in a dorky way.  
"Thanks." She offered, surprised he was talking to her. People tended to avoid her, Piper said it was because of her "resting bitch face" as she put it. Annabeth never saw it, but she wasn't complaining. She already had a good friend in Piper, she didn't need any more. Still, this dork was treating her like she was normal.  
"Good choice, I love greek myths. I was named after one after all." He offered, before giving her a small wave and walking out of her life.  
Annabeth was left standing there for a second, realizing she probably should have been a little more friendly to someone who went out of their way to help her. He seemed bright and cheerful and not the least bit hesitant to talk to her, which had been refreshing.  
As she made her way back to her book bag, she paused again. He was named after a greek myth? Which one? Jason? Hercules? It obviously wasn't important but now her curiosity was burning. How could he just offer her that and then not follow up?  
Shaking her head, desperate to avoid going down that rabbit hole of speculation, she settled into trying to read a little more of the book to figure out if it really had been what she needed.  
An hour later she found herself moderately successful at least, the book had been what she needed but all the new and complicated greek words weren't helping her dyslexia much when she didn't even know how the word was spelt normally.  
Deciding to call it for the day there, she packed her bags and headed down the cafe on the first floor. She earned a treat in her opinion.  
Returning a text to Piper, she got in line before checking her Twitter a bit. As the line stepped forward, she glanced up and was surprised to see a familiar light blue sweater in front of her. He was facing forward, looking up at the menu but she recognized that sweater and hair. And his surprisingly muscular arms. He stepped forward to order and a plan crept into Annabeth's head.  
"Hey, can I get a grande caramel frappuccino? That'll be i-"  
"And one grande macchiato." Annabeth chimed in, stepping forward suddenly and handing her card over.  
The boy looked utterly flustered by her sudden appearance. "I can pa-"  
"The name is Annabeth." She told the amused looking barista. Annabeth turned to the boy, raising an eyebrow.  
"Percy." He told the barista, before turning back only to see her already walking towards the waiting area.  
He scurried over next to her, giving her an adorably confused expression.  
"What… was that? I could have bought my own drink." He said, clearly trying to piece things together.  
Annabeth merely shrugged in response "I owe you for your help earlier. It's no biggie."  
He frowned slightly, crossing his arms. "I didn't help you expecting something in return. I was just passing by and my mom taught me to help others when I can.  
She raised an eyebrow at the mention of his mom, but nodded. "Well I felt like doing something nice because I happened to be nearby." She countered, making his face scrunch up when he realized she turned his argument against him.  
"Well thank you, but I can pay you bac-"  
"No." Annabeth interrupted, putting on a tough look. It seemed to crack his nerve a bit and he sighed. "Well thank you… Annabeth?"  
She nodded, smirking at her little victory. "No problem, Percy. Even if it was rude of you to give me a puzzle of what your name was then just leave.”  
His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. “Oh! Ah, crap. I’m sorry.” He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “I didn’t think you actually cared…”  
Annabeth shrugged. “I don’t like leaving puzzles unsolved.”  
He gave her a crooked smile and laughed slightly, giving her a mild pang of annoyance. She didn’t like being laughed at.  
“What?” She asked, her voice a little more steely than she had meant it.  
He just laughed a little more. “It’s just a little funny. You’re different than what I expected.”  
Raising an eyebrow, she crossed her arms. “What did you expect?”  
His laughter was cut off as he realized how thin the ice he was treading on might actually be. “Just… that you’d be a little tougher. But you’re actually pretty smart and kind.”  
Annabeth wasn’t actually sure how to respond, and before she could form a response their names were called as they got their coffee.  
He glanced down at his watch before his eyes widened. “Shoot. I feel bad running but I promised my mom I’d grab some groceries before dinner and I’m going to be late.”  
He took a few steps around. “I think you go to my school, so I’ll see you around, okay? I’ll buy you the coffee next time.” He promised with a friendly smile, and small wave before he was out the door.  
Leaning against the counter, Annabeth took another sip of her drink as she processed her whole interaction with him. He was just so different from her whole normal interactions. For the most part he didn’t seem intimidated by her presence much, and treated her like everyone else when others were usually skittish around her. For what seemed like a momma’s boy, he was pretty tough.   
He was amusing at least, if not a little cute. Shaking her head, she walked out of the little shop as she found herself hoping she did actually get to run into him again.

XxXxXxXxX

“What the hell is your problem?”  
A woman’s voice cut across from right behind her, making her pause from a bite of her sandwich. She slowly kept chewing as she looked over her shoulder to glance at the random woman who deemed it important to ruin her lunch.   
“What?” She asked, before taking another bite. Annabeth was pretty sure she hadn’t had a problem with her before.   
“Why the hell have you been flirting with my boyfriend?” She asked, crossing her arms as her two friends stood beside her.  
“Listen, I have no idea what you mean. I haven’t been flirting with anyone.” Annabeth said, setting down her burger and standing up. It was the truth. She wasn’t exactly seeking anyone out right now, and definitely hadn’t been fawning over some guy.   
“Then how come he keeps talking about you?”  
“I don't know, because you’re bored?” Annabeth replied, raising an eyebrow.  
The girl looked flabbergasted.   
“You bitch!” She screamed, shoving Annabeth.   
Annabeth stumbled a moment, catching herself on the table.   
“Listen, I don’t know who you are or who your boyfriend is. I’m just trying to eat my lunch. You should really get your ass out of here if you don’t want to get beat.” Annabeth warned, trying to place nicely because she was still at school and wasn’t looking to get in trouble.   
The girl scoffed. “I don’t know what that idiot sees in you. You’re just a dumb bitch that’s kind of pretty.”  
Annabeth’s eyes narrowed as she took a step towards the girl. “What did you say?”  
The girl motioned to hit Annabeth again, but Annabeth struck first. Sweeping out with one foot, she kicked the back of the girl’s shoe, as she pushed on her shoulder. She stumbled backwards and fell on her ass. Her friends scrambled to help her up as they turned to her. All Annabeth did was raise her fists in front of her, clearly letting them know she wasn’t afraid to fight and they scampered off, calling her some more names as they retreated around the corner.  
Glancing around the corner, Annabeth saw various students watching her, whispering about what had just gone down.   
With a sigh, she plopped down and started eating her burger again, her appetite pretty much gone. Great, more rumors. Surely now everyone would think she also stole boyfriends. Highschool just kept getting better doesn't it?   
Dropping her head into her hands, she just took a few deep breaths. She would be fine alone, she always was. If things got bad she could just trouble Piper and she’d help her out.  
She heard the sound of a tray and drink being set down across from her and looked up to see Percy sitting down.   
He just smirked at her, taking a bite of his own food.  
“You might not wanna sit with me, people are going to be talking.”  
He gave her a strange look. “So? People will talk about people they don’t understand.”  
Taking another bite of her food, Annabeth watched him eat with a rather carefree smile. She couldn’t understand him. He seemed too much like a good kid to want to hang around trouble like her.   
“In case you didn’t see, I almost kicked a girl’s ass for talking to me. You sure you wanna push your luck?”  
He rolled his eyes at her. “Please, if you wanted to fight that girl wouldn’t have been able to run away. I know what a fight looks like and she’s lucky you’re a nice person.”  
This caused Annabeth to lean back. “You know what a fight is like? You look like the biggest fight you got in was with a stapler.”  
He tensed up for a moment, before shrugging. “I haven’t always been a good kid.” Was his only mildly cryptic response. This set Annabeth’s brain off as she began to grow deeply curious about just who this bright boy with a mysterious past was that seemed utterly unphased by her tough girl act.  
“You aren’t like actually that girl’s boyfriend right?” She asked, realizing he may have been the reason that girl was so upset.  
He shook his head. “Never seen her before, thankfully.”  
This earned a laugh from Annabeth, he really was cheeky.  
“Are you done trying to scare me off? Because I’d really rather ask what you thought about that greek book.”  
Annabeth felt her lip twitch into a smirk. This dork had a mouth on him for sure.   
“It was interesting. I’m still only part way through she admitted.   
He nodded knowingly. “It’s a tough book. It killed my dyslexia, it took me weeks to finish.” He offered, before taking a sip of his soda. “But it’s pretty crazy what the greeks were up to.”   
Before she knew it, Annabeth was laughing with him as they swapped the craziest greek myths they had heard. Eventually, too soon, the bell was ringing and Percy was packing up his bag. He was once again gone with a dorky wave to her and a bright smile.  
As she headed to her literature class, she saw Piper leaning on her desk, waiting for her and smirking. “Who was that guy you were eating with? Did you actually steal that girl’s boyfriend?”  
Annabeth rolled her eyes, dropping her bag. “Just some guy that is kinda cool.” Piper gave her a look, clearly saying she was expecting to hear more details but class was starting and Piper gave her one last look meaning “later” and sat down in her own seat.

XxXxXxXX

“You piece of shit!”   
Annabeth heard the sounds of the fight before she saw it. There were plenty of students gathered around the fight, watching it. No one was stepping up though.  
As Annabeth approached with Piper, she wondered who was going at it today.  
Pushing past a few, she was surprised to see Percy fighting with some guy. Except Percy wasn’t fighting back at all, he was just doing his best to block all of the hits.  
“What happened?”  
Annabeth asked someone nearby, feeling her anger spike. She had been having lunch with Percy for the past few weeks sometimes, he’d wander over and start talking to her, even when rumors started about him being her “plaything.”  
Silena, a classmate of hers who was looking worried answered. “They were walking along, and the guy was texting. Percy bumped into him and the dude dropped his phone and the screen shattered. He blames Percy, but Percy wouldn’t back down.  
“Fucking nerd, you owe me a phone!” The guy said again as he tackled Percy into the wall.  
Meanwhile Percy was quiet, but just had his hands ready to block any stray punches. He met eyes with Annabeth and gave her a tired smile, and a tiny wave before a hook connected to his face and sent him sprawling onto the ground. When he got back up, blood was leaking from his nose but he still didn’t throw a punch.  
Annabeth was seeing red. Before Piper could stop her, she had closed the distance and grabbed the back of the guys shirt. She pulled him back, stepping between them.   
“Back the fuck off, dude.”  
The guy just glared at her. “Out of the way, bitch. This asshole broke my ph-”  
Reaching forward, Annabeth grabbed at him.  
With a strong throw she shoved him into the wall. Her fist connected to his stomach, and when he doubled over she brought her knee up. He dropped to the ground gasping in pain.  
“You piece of shit. If you ever touch him again, you won’t be able to move next time.”  
Reaching over, she grabbed Percy’s hand and pulled him away from the group and off towards the parking lot. Percy was quiet as he followed her, trying to stop his nosebleed.  
Eventually they reached Annabeth’s old truck and she quickly drug through it, pulling out an old box. She handed him some tissues out of it, and pulled out some bandaids and wipes.  
“It’s not the first time I’ve been in a fight. Come here.” She muttered, motioning for him to sit in the passenger’s seat.  
He just nodded and sat down as she checked for cuts and other injuries. She worked in quiet for a moment before she couldn’t take it anymore.  
“Why didn’t you fight back? You even said you knew how to fight. It’s one thing if you were losing, but you didn’t even try.” She said, a hint of disgust in her voice. Was he really that pathetic to not even try?  
Percy sighed and lowered the tissue, now that the blood had stopped.   
“I can’t afford to get kicked out of another school.” He confessed, looking out the window.   
“I’ve already been kicked out of 5 schools. This was the last one in the area, and I promised my mom when I started it, I wouldn’t get in trouble. She’s… put up with a lot for my sake. I owe her everything and I finally realize how lucky I am. If it took being beat up in order to make sure I don’t screw things up for her again, it was worth it.”  
Annabeth looked at him, jaw open. Looking down, she clenched her fist. “I’m sorry.”  
He shrugged. “I should thank you for stepping in. That guy has a good punch.”  
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry thinking you were weak for not fighting. It’s… pretty cool you held yourself back honestly.”   
She leaned against the open door. “I tend to let my anger get the better of me. I’ve put my dad through a lot too. I would have beat the shit out of him and probably ended up in trouble too.”  
Percy frowned. “But you could get in trouble for stepping in.”  
She shrugged. “It would be worth it. I normally am in trouble for my own sake, I don’t mind if it’s helping out a friend.”  
Percy grinned at her. “To be fair, you are pretty badass.”  
“Damn straight.” She countered, earning a laugh from him.   
She glanced over at the clock. “Class started like ten minutes ago, wanna get some food? I doubt this will be the last we hear of it and I’m hungry.”  
He thought for a moment. “I’ve been pretty good this year, missing a class won’t be the end of the world. Let’s go.”  
Sure enough, when they were going back for the rest of their classes, she got called to the principal’s office. As she was getting lectured, which probably would have led to a suspension, Percy entered the office. She could tell he was laying it on a little thick for the principal, but he really plead her case, begging him to forgive her because he was in “danger and she saved him. That she was his hero.” Which Annabeth had to admit, it was a little hard to keep a straight face during the explanation. Apparently Percy had some credit with the principal though because he let her off with a warning, which was a first for her.  
XxXxXxXxX  
Since that day, the two had grown a lot closer. He had even met Piper, and Piper had told her it was good she found someone who could keep her out of trouble. Not that she thought she needed to be managed, but Annabeth would admit that it was nice to have a friend other than piper to rely on. He was refreshing, like a walk on a sandy beach.   
So when he finally asked her out to dinner a few months later, she was pretty quick to say yes.   
When she walked into the pool hall with Piper at her side, she ignored all the strange looks she got from seeing a punk at a sporting event that wasn’t football.   
“Wow, you really are changing if you’re going to a swim meet.” Annabeth nudged her friend in the side. “I wanna be a good girlfriend and cheer him on.”  
“Well I won’t complain about the view.” Piper said, glancing over at the guys warming up and stretching in just their swimwear.  
Rolling her eyes at her friend, she couldn’t exactly say anything. She remembered the first time she had seen Percy shirtless.  
It had been a little after they started dating. They had ended up back at his place studying, which had ended up in a little kissing. Her hands had trailed up his shirt, and the last thing she expected was to find a nice set of abs on a toned torso. She had never really seen her dork without a shirt before, and she had been pleasantly surprised. It had also been when she decided to go to a swim meet.   
Unfortunately Annabeth hadn’t exactly studied up on how it worked. She figured it wouldn’t be that complicated, but without any sort of reference to go by, she couldn’t judge much more than who swam the fastest. Something she made a mental note to change with a few hours on google.   
It didn’t take research for Annabeth to tell that Percy was the first to finish in his races though, nor to feel an immense sense of pride when she saw him grin at her after the meet as she was swept up into his arms.   
As the three of them left for Pizza, Percy’s hand in hers, Annabeth realized she might be changing a little. Things were feeling a little less lonely, and when she saw Percy’s face light up at some joke Piper told, Annabeth figured things would be just fine.


	3. Demi-Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PJO/Soul Eater Crossover!   
Annabeth is the premiere Meister at the DWMA. She lives with her partner, Percy and together with their friends they are trying to grow into meisters and weapons that can keep people safe. When they are warned about a grave danger and sent out on an important mission, how will they handle it?

“Percy! Get up, we have to leave for school.”   
Annabeth called out, cracking an egg into the bowl as she prepared some scrambled eggs.  
Having been Percy’s partner for so long, she knew how slow he was to get moving in the morning.  
Sure enough, a minute later her partner came wandering out of his room, yawning as he slunk into the bathroom and the shower turned on a moment later.   
Humming to herself, Annabeth finished serving up the two plates of breakfast and set the table as she started to eat her own meal, glad her partner had decided to actually get up responsibly today.  
A few minutes later Percy wandered to their small table in their apartment, grabbing a piece of toast and eating it as he let out one last yawn.   
“I told you to dry off properly before eating, don’t drip everywhere.” Annabeth warned, narrowing her eyes at his freshly showered hair that was dripping his water down onto his shoulders and rolling off onto the floor.   
“No time, we’re going to be late.” He echoed her, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.   
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth just finished up her food and moved to the kitchen to wash her dishes. “Then let’s go.”   
She saw him scoop about half the plate into his mouth at once as he started washing his plate too while she finished putting her textbooks in her bag.   
“Annabeth?”  
He asked, leaning around the corner as he put the plate in the drying rack.  
“Hm?” She called, struggling with the zipper for a moment as she glanced back at him.   
“Thanks for breakfast, it was delicious.” He said with a warm smile.   
She felt her cheeks burn slightly as she looked away. “No problem.”  
Soon they were off on their way to the academy, her arms wrapped around his waist as they rode on his motorcycle.   
They parked it in their usual spot, and made their way up to the large steps to the DWMA.   
When they got to the top, they heard a familiar argument.   
“Come on, you’re my partner.”  
“That’s why I need to make sure you learn.”  
“Just let me borrow them today!”   
“I said no.”  
“If your meister fails, you’ll fail too.”  
“You’re not going to fail.”  
A familiar pair was standing there bickering. The blonde boy with his arms crossed as he watched his meister put on a puppy dog face.   
“I take it you didn’t study?” Annabeth asked, a small grin on her face.  
Piper just scoffed. “I did most of the work! I just got a little distracted.”  
Percy laughed at her. “You never learn, huh?”  
The meister turned her attention to him. “Like you’re one to talk.” She countered, raising an eyebrow. “Did you steal Annabeth’s notes while she slept again?”  
Whipping her head around, Annabeth glared at her partner. “You did that?”  
Shrinking back, Percy raised his hands. “Once!” Before he turned back to Piper. “No, unlike some others, I actually learn from my mistakes.”  
“Or I won’t give you dinner till you finish studying.”  
“That too.”  
Jason laughed. “That’s sad dude.”  
Percy stepped up. “You say something, sparky?”  
Jason shrugged. “I just think a weapon should be a little more responsible.”  
“Annabeth is the genius in this partnership. I trust her completely, it’s my job to provide the strength. Something you could work on.”  
This time Jason flinched slightly. “Oh?” He countered, squaring his shoulders. “You sure you wanna pick a fight so far from the ocean?”  
A troublemaker smile crept across Percy’s face, and Annabeth sighed knowing what was happening.  
“If I’m just fighting you I don’t need the ocean. I would have to make Piper find a new partner.”  
“Try it, Jackson.”  
Percy stepped back as he held out his arm. It glowed, and a moment later it was replaced a bronze sword blade from the elbow down.  
Jason’s own arm as his own arm was replaced by the end of the spear.   
“Are they seriously at it again?” Hazel’s voice cut in as she walked up with Frank, who was happily eating a muffin.  
“Unfortunately our idiots seem energetic this morning.” Piper complained as they watched the boy’s clash.   
Annabeth had her head in her hands. “Can we just get to class without a fight breaking out once?” She turned towards where Percy had just skidded back. “Percy, we’re going to be late. Hurry up. Or else.”  
“Go on without me! I need to finish teaching him a lesson.” He replied as he spun, planting his foot in Jason’s stomach and swiping at him only to be met with the spear.   
Annabeth frowned, feeling her annoyance peak. She was not going to be late because her stupid partner had a rivalary with her best friend’s weapon.   
“Need help?” Another voice asked as Annabeth turned to see a pixie haired girl walk up with her partner who Annabeth was pretty sure wasn’t actually fully conscious.   
Scratching the back of her head, Annabeth sighed. “I’m not in the mood to deal with them. Can you break it up?”   
The cheery girl grinned, saluting. “On it! Tyler, you’re up.”  
“Mmm..” Was the boy’s response, his eyes still shut as he yawned and took his partner’s hand. The boy glowed for a moment before his whole form shifted into a large bow.  
“Soul Resonance!” Everyone took a step back as the girl took a step back into a stance, pulling the glowing bow string back to the full draw distance. The air around her was chilled, as an icy mist crept from the arrow.  
Annabeth saw the girl take a deep breath, before she fired.   
Just as the boys landed, swinging towards each other, the arrow struck the ground between their feet before it exploded upwards into an icy pillar. Smoke erupted from the impact, and both of them flew backwards, sliding to a stop on the ground.   
Annabeth walked over to where Percy was, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. He was clearly about to start complaining about the interference until he saw Annabeth glaring down at him.   
“Stop picking fights with your friends.”   
Percy looked up at her, opening his mouth to counter before he sighed and looked down and away. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to lose to him.”  
Sighing, seeing his crestfallen expression Annabeth just reached down a hand.  
He looked up at her hand, before shifting to her and giving her a soft smile.  
“As long as I’m your meister, you won’t lose to anyone. I’ll make you the strongest weapon here.”  
Percy took her hand, and stood up, still holding it for a moment. “Of course, I do have the best Meister after all.”  
Glancing over, Annabeth saw Piper walking back with Jason, having given him back his glasses that had been knocked off.  
The group was back together after a moment, Tyler resting his head on Ashe’s shoulder as he let out another yawn. “It’s too early for fighting.” He mumbled.   
“Come on.” Ashe muttered, tussling his hair, waving bye to the group before heading inside.   
Jason and Percy stared each other down for a moment, before Percy reached out a fist. Jason grinned and knocked knuckles with him.   
“Dude, you’re getting stronger.”  
“Bro, you’re much faster now.” Percy countered.  
Rolling her eyes as how her idiots could go from at each other's throats to a bromance in a matter of minutes Annabeth just ushered the group towards their class, having lost most of the time they had saved by heading over quickly.  
When they finally got in to class, they walked over to where Leo and Calypso were sitting. Calypso had a small box of apple slices and peanut butter that Leo was currently eating out of as they chatted happily. “Hey guys.” Leo said, turning around and waving.  
They all took their seat after a moment, the more studious ones already pulling out their notes.   
“Sup.” Annabeth turned her head around at the greeting, and Saw Reyna setting down a coffee as she put her bag down.  
“Did you finish the essay?” Annabeth asked, noticing Percy slump down next to her and put his head down, already starting to doze off.\  
Reyna nodded. “Yeah. Two days ago actually.”  
Annabeth was impressed by her friend yet again. Reyna was the only autonomous weapon in their class. Even without a meister she was still able to fight on par with everyone else.  
Across the classroom Annabeth saw Tyler and Ashe from earlier. Tyler was looking a lot like her partner, face down on the desk with his shoulders slowly rising and falling, while Ashe was running a hand through his hair gently, a soft smile on his face as she looked at him.  
Grinning slightly, she turned back to the rest of her friends as she heard Hazel and Piper starting to discuss how their missions were going.   
A few minutes later their teacher entered the room, downing a coffee and tossing her backpack on her desk, which slid across it before falling off onto the ground. “Sup. Annabeth, Frank, Piper, and Calypso. Bring your team to Chiron’s office, you have a mission. The rest of you, pop quiz time.”  
She said, motioning towards the door as their group looked between each other surprised. A group mission? It had been a while since they went on one of those together.  
They all glanced between each other a bit, all thinking the same thing.  
“Hurry up, or you’re taking the test too.” Thalia added.  
They all hurried up and soon found themselves standing at the headmasters office.   
“Welcome students, you’re all doing well I assume?”  
“Yes headmaster!” They all called out in chorus.  
“It seems we’ve discovered creature well on it’s way to being a kishin. It’s evaded us for now, but we’ve narrowed it’s location down. We’re sending you out to deal with it now, before it grows in danger.”  
Percy stepped up slightly. “All of us? I’m pretty sure Annabeth and I can take care of one monster.”  
Annabeth stayed silent, but didn’t exactly disagree. She couldn’t be the best meister if she had to constantly rely on others to finish her own job.  
“I appreciate your eagerness to prove yourself, young Perseus. But this monster should not be taken lightly. In fact, I'd rather not send students, but all of our death scythes are occupied at the moment.”   
A quiet fell over the group. They hadn’t heard their headmaster so serious in a long time.   
“Your mission is to locate, and destroy the monster. Above all, all of you are to return safely, am I understood?”   
“Yes sir!” They all replied, before making their way out of the room and towards the desk to get their travel info.  
A few hours later and they were all assembled at the airport, waiting outside one of the terminals. They all had their one bag, and were chatting together as they waited to finally be able to board. Well, most of them aside from Percy and Annabeth who were huddled off to the side.  
“I’m not flying there.” Percy said, crossing his arms.   
Reaching out gently, Annabeth rested her hand on his arm. “I know you don’t like flying, but we don’t have time to find another way. This creature is dangerous.”  
Reaching up, he ran a hand through his hair. “I know! I know okay! But… flying isn’t cool. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want to die because I’m trapped in a tin can up in the sky.”  
Glancing over, Annabeth saw the rest of the group looking over at them, both exasperated and concerned. They all knew about Percy’s… issues with flying. Which is why they usually took trains or boats when they could.  
“Percy, we all have tickets, we’re going to fight a dangerous monster that is way more likely to kill us, and it’s a quick flight. We need you to come on.”   
The voice came over the intercom, letting them know that they were allowed to board now.  
Percy took a few steps away from the plane. “You guys go, I’ll grab a train ticket and meet you there.” He countered.  
“Percy!” Annabeth snapped, making him flinch. She knew he knew how outrageous he was being, but she could genuinely see the fear in his eyes. He had a crippling fear of flying, and Annabeth really didn’t want to force him to suffer through it.  
“Come on, I promise you’ll be safe. I’m with you.” She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it with hers gently.  
He gave her a pained expression but nodded after a moment, and let her head him back.  
The rest of the group was quiet as they boarded, even Jason wasn’t picking a fight with him. Percy just kept his eyes down at the floor, letting Annabeth lead him.  
They all stowed their carry ons, and Percy had headphones in already. She could see how tense he was as he was clearly trying to pretend he didn’t exist for about two hours.  
He had the music cranked up, and Annabeth could hear the songs from the earbuds.  
Annabeth took a seat, and Piper leaned over the back of hers. “Is he going to be okay?” She asked, glancing over at her friend.  
Sighing, Annabeth ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, he will be. It’s just going to be a rough two hours.” Her voice dripping with concern. She really didn’t like seeing him like this, which is why she usually put up with slower travel when they could if it kept him out of the sky.  
Piper gave him one last glance before she slid back into her seat.  
Getting comfy in her seat, Annabeth saw his hands clenched tightly around the arm rests as the plane eventually started rumbling as it started to roll along the runway.  
Reaching over, she nudged his hand, and he looked at her with wide panicked eyes. She managed to thread her fingers through his as she held his hand, and tried not to flinch with how tightly he was squeezing hers.  
Eventually they reached cruising altitude and he seemed to relax, just a little.   
“Hey, you okay?” She asked eventually, leaning over and gently pulling an earbud out.  
He forced a smile to his face. “Just peachy.”  
Not wanting to call him out, she nodded. “We’re at cruising altitude now. We’ll start landing before long, it’s almost over.”   
He nodded, clearly trying to be nonchalant but she could see the relief in his eyes.  
She stood up to go to the bathroom and was surprised to feel him suddenly grab her wrist, looking up at her with a worried expression.   
“I’m just going to the bathroom, I’ll be back in a moment.”  
He nodded, releasing her hand and looking away, embarrassed at his own actions.   
When Annabeth finally managed to make it back to her seat, Piper was sitting in her seat chatting with Percy who seemed to be grateful for the distraction. They caught her coming back, and Piper flashed her a subtle thumbs up before moving back a row to her own seat.  
Taking her seat next to Percy again, he seemed a little less tense finally, at least until they hit a patch of turbulence that made Percy jump.  
“We are hitting a small patch of turbulence, everyone please return to your seats and buckle yourself in.”  
“Oh my God.” Percy complained, grabbing her hand again.  
Annabeth bit back a smile, amused that her partner was so flustered over a common event. Meanwhile he would be fearless and laughing when charging monsters that wanted nothing more than to rip him to pieces.  
Eventually Percy’s nightmare ended and the plane landed. The second they managed to get out of the airport, Percy was laughing loudly, throwing his hands up.   
“Let’s do this! Let’s kick this monster’s ass!” Hazel just hung back a few steps. “He certainly changed.”  
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth shrugged. “I think he’s just happy to be on solid ground again. I’m glad though.” She confessed, a warm smile on her face at how happy he looked.  
Noticing it had gone quiet, she glanced over to see Piper and Hazel both looking at her with a knowing smile.  
“She’s so cute when it comes to Percy.” Piper offered.  
“Indeed.” Hazel agreed.  
Scoffing, she pushed ahead of them and ignored their giggles and her own burning cheeks as she caught up to Percy and started to go over the game plan with him.  
"Okay, so we'll check into the hotel and then we'll go hunt him. He's mostly active at night so it'll be hard to track him down before then. We need to be ready, I haven't seen chiron act that serious in ages."   
Percy's gleeful smile faltered as his expression became serious. "Yeah, we need to be careful."   
They glanced at each other, both looking determined to keep the other safe. Before either of them could really say anything sappy, Leo launched forward and through his arms over both of their shoulders. "We'll be fine. It's nowhere near home so we can just let loose and not worry about damages." He teased with a snicker, until a hand gently hit the back of his head.  
"Just because we wouldn't get in trouble doesn't mean that others wouldn't be inconvenienced." Calypso warned.  
Leo just shrugged and withdrew his arms and walked forward. "He's out in the woods last I heard. Just some trees around. I promise not to start a forest fire." He said, giving a scouts salute.  
The group continued to bicker and laugh as they made their way to the hotel and checked in.  
After they swarmed a local cafe and ate their fill, the sun was finally setting and they all moved towards the outskirts of town. Now in their proper battle attire, the mood of the group was different from before.  
Annabeth lead the group with Percy at her side, Jason and Piper were in the middle with Leo and Calypso while Frank and Hazel brought up the rear.  
"Where's Ashe when you need her and her eagle eyes." Piper muttered, glancing around in the darkening forest.   
"Let me try. Percy." Annabeth said and held his hand.  
"Soul resonance." Closing her eyes, Annabeth let her senses expand outwards. She could detect the wavelengths of her friends, a few small forest critters, and as she strained herself to reach the edges of her range she detected something… horrible. Her eyes snapped opened. "Northwest, about a mile!"   
Instantly the group took off into a run. It was game time.  
As they closed the distance, they heard a loud roar and birds fluttered out of the nearby trees into the air.  
As they broke into a clearing they saw what reminded her of a lumberjack. It was a large creature, resembling something that had once been a man but fur sprouted from him. There were tattered remains of flannel hanging around him and a massive woodcutter's axe was gripped in one hand, stained by what she could only assume was blood.  
It turned to them, glowing red eyes as it let out another roar and tossed something towards them that it had had gripped in its hand. It crashed to the ground a few feet in front of them. With a gasp, Annabeth realized it had been a moose. It had looked like a fox in its hand, the creature was massive in the distance.  
"Percy…" she started, reaching out her hand.  
Percy took it again, before his whole form glowed. His weight shifted and a moment later she was left holding a large bronze sword. Swinging it a few times, his familiar weight was a comfort. Their wavelengths started to sync up as she felt her body grow light. They could do this.  
"Get ready!" She called out.  
Next to her Jason glowed before she formed into a large bronze spear. He appeared in Piper's hand, who spun him rapidly around her body a few times, the air crackling and making the air on the back of her neck stand up.   
Leo grinned and struck a pose before he started glowing as well. The glow wrapped itself around   
Calypso's arm as he formed into a mechanical, bicep length arm brace. Flames flickered up and down her arm as she flexed her fingers and arm.  
Finally Hazel and Frank shared a smile as she glowed. A moment later she reformed into a beautiful Onyx bow as Frank opened his quiver.  
Annabeth stepped forward, but the massive axe flew through the air, barely giving her time to duck before it impaled itself into the tree behind her, cleaving it in two. Barely able to keep her balance, she sprinted forward while it's weapon was away. What she failed to see in the dark was the chain hanging low that suddenly pulled taut as the axe came flying back from behind.   
"Annabeth!" Calypso called out as she leapt forward. Her arm glowed bright as she brought down a massive punch into the axe, spiking it into the ground a few feet behind Annabeth.   
"Thanks!" She called as she continued to rush forward while the beast tried to yank the axe free.  
As Annabeth leaped up, it raised back both its fists in attack. Just then two arrows impaled themselves into the neck of the creature. It flinched enough for Annabeth to leave a slice down it's chest. Jumping back, Annabeth was horrified to see the wound was shallow. Just how tough was it?  
It ripped the arrows out, snapping them in its massive palm, before it swept out with an arm and knocked Annabeth backwards.  
"Annabeth!" Percy screamed but she scrambled to her feet. "I'm fine!"  
It reaches forward as if it to grab her.   
The air felt charged and a moment later a spear impaled itself into its chest. It roared again as electricity arked out of the spear and through the beast. Piper launched after it, grabbing it and spinning around it once before kicking off it and flipping backwards gracefully and landing next to Annabeth.  
"This thing is tough."  
"You're telling me." Annabeth grumbled. A few more arrows shot through the air but they harmlessly stuck into the back of it's massive arm.  
"Buy me a minute." Piper called as she sprinted to a nearby tree, hopping up and starting to climb the branches.  
Annabeth dashed forward. "Caly! Right!"   
Annabeth rolled left as she slid under another swing and sliced upwards with Percy, leaving another all-too-shallow cut on its arm. Stepping forward and swinging with both hands, she managed to leave a gash on the side of it's leg and make it stumble.  
Just then Calypso appeared from the right, another fiery punch connected to the side of it's head and sending it crashing to the ground.  
"River! 100 yards to the west!"  
Annabeth glanced back to Frank and Calypso, then back to Piper at the top of the tree. The beast was dangerous. They needed Annabeth's full strength to bring this thing down, which meant getting Percy to water.  
"We can ma-" Annabeth's side exploded in pain as she rocketed across the field, the beast having swiped at her from the ground. She bounced once, gasping pain before sliding into a tree. Her vision was blurry and she struggled to get back air into her lungs. She was vaguely aware of Calypso and Frank launching an assault to distract it. It yanked on the chain again, tripping Calypso as the axe flew back to it. Annabeth struggled to her feet as she saw the beast launch the axe at her. She manages to dive out of the way, but it once again knocked the wind out of her. Percy was yelling at her to keep moving again, but her body was still hurting. She saw the chain resting over her get pulled taut. She realized what was about to happen but her knee gave out momentarily. She tried to raise Percy but knew she didn't have the strength to block the axe.  
It flew towards her, and she braced herself. What she didn't expect was for a glow to appear and Percy to be next to her and tackling her down to knock her out of the way.  
"Percy!" The scream tore from her throat. His body slumped over hers. She forced herself to sit up, and held Percy. His back was torn and blood was starting to leak out from it.  
"He's hurt!" She called out.  
The beast raised the axe again as if to throw it, but Calypso appeared, her whole form blazing.   
Her fist connected with the ace, sending it flying to the side out of it's grip. Just then they heard Frank and Hazel yell out in soul resonance, as a massive onyx arrow shot across the field. It pierced the chain, snapping it in half as it fell limp.  
"Percy, can you change?"  
Percy forced a smile to his face and nodded, changing into his sword form as Annabeth took off running. "Let's go!"  
Her group followed behind her as she made her way towards the river as fast as she could. Water always strengthened Percy. His wavelength was unique to it, one of the things that had interested her about him first.  
The beast roared and was following after them as trees crashed in the distance.  
Mercifully, before long they heard the river and saw it through the trees. A tree sailed through the woods, but was slowed down and stopped by others.  
Sliding into the river, Annabeth stabbed the sword into the river. She immediately felt his wavelength strengthen and spike.  
"Get him in here!" She called out after a moment, as she focused on keeping her wavelength in sync with Percy's.  
The beast came crashing out of the woods, swiping at Piper who narrowly flipped out of the way. Another massive onyx arrow collided into the beast's back, piercing into it as it stumbled towards the water.  
"Let's do this Leo!" Calypso called out as Annabeth felt the temperature of the area spike upwards. "Soul Resonance!" Her arm glowed as it spread across her back and down her other arm. Slamming her fists together, flames erupted around her. She jumped up, and in a superman punch she punched the end of the arrow with a titanic blow, as the arrow lurched forward and pierced through the chest of beast as it stumbled forward and crashed into the water.   
"Percy! Now!" His response was pained, but powerful.  
"Soul Resonance!"  
Their wavelength spread out into the water as it vegan to swirl around the beast, faster and rougher as it began to tear at him and lock him in place. She breathed heavily as she focused on keeping control of so much water and fighting the struggling beast.  
The final chorus was as Piper yelled out as well.  
"Soul Resonance!"   
Jason's form grew as she stabbed downwards with him, into the top of the beast.  
Annabeth hopped out of the water as a bolt of electricity struck from the sky to the spear, hitting it and arcing through the beast and water.  
With out last pained gurgle, it roared before its form darkened and it exploded into a glowing red soul.  
They all gathered on the shore, exhausted and out of breath.  
Percy leaned against the Annabeth, tired. She checked his back, but the wound had already closed thankfully.  
Piper walked over and handed Percy the soul. He looked at her, then at the others. "But…"   
Piper grinned. "You earned it this time. Besides, with this…"   
Percy saw the rest nod before he finally ate it.  
"We're at ninety nine now."  
Annabetb grinned at his partner. After all these years, they were finally almost there. She had almost made him into a death scythe.  
They all just laughed and started heading back. Percy leaned on her a bit more, but she wasn't complaining. "You alright?"  
"Yeah, just starving."  
She grinned and hugged his side. "Let's get you some Pizza."


	4. Tulips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Florist!Annabeth  
Most days at the small flower shop are boring to Annabeth, but the job has treated her well. When a flustered boy comes in, desperate for help, she can't help but welcome the change of pace. However, if she isn't careful, flowers might not be the only thing he leaves the shop with. Her heart might just be on his list too.

Annabeth hummed to herself, her hips swaying back and forth as she bounced in place. She snipped another dead bulb off the plant, tossing it in her bag as she leisurely worked her way through the rows of flowers. The day had been incredibly slow, and while it was normally a bit of a time crunch to get through all the pruning, Annabeth was starting to wonder how she’d fill the last hour of her shift at this rate.  
Her headphones ran up from the phone in her back pocket, one bud resting in her ear while the other dangled over shoulder as she sang softly, trimming another flower. At least on slow days she could list to what she wanted if customers weren’t in the store. Sometimes it was a book she downloaded, other times a podcast. Today she had just opted to listen to some older songs from highschool, feeling a bit nostalgic.  
When the bell jingled above the door, she turn around, in a smooth motion putting down the scissors, removing her earbud, and planting a welcoming smile on her face.  
“Hello there! Is there anything I can help you find?”  
She had been expecting maybe another old lady out on a walk, or another businessman dressed in a suit stopping by on his way home for a gift for his wife.  
A panicked young man looking around flustered wasn’t exactly high on her list.   
He stared at her like a deer in the headlights for a moment. “Oh thank God, you seem smart.”   
Annabeth just raised an eyebrow. That was definitely a first as far as responses went for her. “Thank you?” She said, utterly confused as she pulled out her phone and paused the music that was still playing through the earbuds.   
The man nodded. “You’re welcome.” He responded instinctually, like he wasn’t actually fully processing their conversation or how strange he was sounding. “Do you know anything about flowers?” He asked with such a sincere honesty Annabeth couldn’t actually laugh.   
She looked around the shop, lined wall to wall with flowers and associated paraphernalia, before glancing down at her assistant manager name tag. “A little, yeah.”  
The man’s eyes lit up like she was sent from God. “I’m so lucky. Oh boy. I need your help.”  
Annabeth wasn’t sure how much luck was involved in finding someone familiar with flowers in a flower shop, but he seemed frazzled so she decided to cut him some slack.  
“Screw up with your girlfriend?” She asked, half teasing, mostly just trying to get him to actually talk about the situation so she could help him out.   
“No, I’m single.” He replied, blinking once as if he didn’t make the connection.   
Annabeth just let out a quiet “oh”, surprised. He was pretty cute, at least in her opinion, and that normally meant someone else had their claws in him by Annabeth’s sad romantic past.  
“They’re for my mom. Her book was just approved to be published today, and I wanted to buy her flowers but I don’t actually know anything about flowers.”  
Cute, and thoughtful? There must be some reason he was single.   
“That’s sweet of you. There are plenty of options that can help though. I assume you want them today so we’ll stick with what we have in stock.” She saw him nod, confirming her assumptions. “Describe your mom for me?”  
The man paused for a moment. “She’s like… super mom.”   
Annabeth’s eyebrow raised again as a smile crept on her face. It only grew when she saw him get a little sheepish. She had had similar customers before, and usually their answers had been like “She liks purple.” or “She likes fancy things.” Or even “She’s hardcore.”  
The customer apperently took her amused silence as a sign that she wanted more information and continued before she could think of anything to say.   
“I mean like… she’s kind, hard-working and caring. She’s down to earth so I don’t think she wants anything over the top. I just want to get her something that shows I’m incredibly happy for her and that I care, because I do.” He finished, looking at her like he was hoping he passed a test.  
Giving him a reassuring nod, she made her way down one of the aisles. “Judging by your description, I’m going to guess she will actually take care of them in a vase so we’ll go with something that will last. Hmm…”  
He followed behind her, eyes watching her eagerly as he was expecting something magical to happen. Smiling a little brighter, her reminding him of a puppy, she continued. “It’s going to be Halloween soon, and I assume she likes to be a little festive, at least.” She said, glancing over her shoulder to see him nod.  
“Then… I would say this is your best bet. I made this earlier today myself.” She offered, turning around and handing him one of the fall bundles. The flowers were darker tones, in a subtle fall theme. Annabeth had been particularly fond of that set of bouquets herself, and she did honestly think they would be a good fit for his mom based off his description of her. The perfect decor, and not too expensive either.   
“Those are awesome! I’ll take it!”   
Annabeth nodded, grabbing them back and grabbing a plastic bag for carrying them, and a litttle pack of plant food to go with them.   
The man followed her to the counter as she went around it, starting to ring it up.   
“What’s your favorite flower?” He blurted out suddenly, making her jump slightly.  
She paused in the middle of ringing it up, looking at him. “Um…” She set down the flower, thinking for a moment. “That’s a hard question. It kind of changes with time.”  
He nods, scratching the back of his head. He looked a little crest fallen. “I guess that’s a bit of a stupid question. LIke asking me my favorite song.”  
Frowning slightly, Annabeth didn’t like seeing that expression on him.  
Moving back around the counter, she walked to one corner of the store. “I suppose it would be this one.” Annabeth said after a moment, reaching out and pulling out a blue tulip. She held it gingerly, smiling down at it. “I love the hue.”  
She glanced back up to see the young man smiling at her. “I’ll take one of those too.”  
She nodded, before going back to finish the transaction. He was all smiles, with a small hint of something else, so Annabeth was pretty happy too. A lot of customers were either in a rush, or ended up only browsing before grumping about the prices and leaving. So seeing an actually satisfied customer was a little refreshing. He had also brightened up her day a little too. She was almost a little sad to see him go, doubting she’d see him again.   
She handed him back his change, dropping it into his hand as she saw the flower reach back across the counter. He was holding it out to her, his face an adorable shade of pink as he looked clearly nervous.   
Her eyes must have showed her surprise because she saw his shoulders physically rise and lower as he took a deep breath.   
“For you. I know it might be silly giving a flower to a florist, but I really wanted to say thank you for helping me out. I really think my mom will love these.”  
She heard him get slightly more anxious with each word like he was regretting the choices in his life that lead him to this point.   
Smiling, she reached out and took the flower back, biting her lip as she smiled. “Thank you.” She said, looking up and brushing some of her hair behind her ear. “This is a first, I’ll admit.”  
The guy looked so relieved when she took the flower she almost felt bad waiting so long to do so.  
“So uh… yeah. Thank you. Really.” He said, backing up slowly as if he was prolonging leaving.   
Holding the flower gingerly, she gave him one more tiny wave before she saw him turn to leave.   
“Wait!” She blurted out, making him pause and spin around confused.  
“I never got your name.” Annabeth said quickly.   
“Percy.” He replied.   
“Percy.” She repeated, determined to remember it. Just in case he ever came by again.   
“I’m Annabeth.”  
“I know.” He replied, pointing at his chest. Which confused Annabeth for a moment until she realized she had a nametag.   
She just nodded. “I hope your mom enjoys them.” She finished, wishing she had something nicer, or maybe even more flirty to say but he was gone out the door.  
She walked back around the counter, seeing him skateboard down the street holding a bouquet. Smiling, she leaned back against the counter and twirled the flower gently in her fingers.   
“Percy.” She repeated, thinking about how well the flower had complimented his eyes.  
After getting it some water and food, she went back to finish up pruning the flowers. Her music may or may not have shifted to a little more love songs, but no one was around to tell.

XxXxXxXxX

THe next day Annabeth knew it was foolish to think she would see him again. She had posted a picture of the tulip when she got home on her instagram, saying it was a “gift from a customer.” Earning some inquisitive texts from her best friend Piper.  
She figured she had finally had one of those hallmark moments where someone bumped into her life for a few precious moments before vanishing again. Maybe she’d be lucky and meet him in a year or so on a train or something. She could hope at least.  
Or… he could walk in through that door again.  
Annabeth nearly dropped the bouquet she was ringing up for a customer when she saw him walk through the door again, looking around for someone. When their eyes met he burst out into a big smile and gave her a small wave that made her heart flutter a bit.   
The old lady she was helping coughed once, and Annabeth quickly got back to work, muttering an apology.  
It was a little hard for her not to rush through the process, a little eager to talk to Percy again. Sure she may be a little too excited, but the brief interaction may have been played over quite a few times the night before. Piper was right, she was a bit of a romantic at heart.  
After what felt like ages, she managed to get the customer grumbling out the door complaining about slow customer service.   
“I’ll be right back.” She said, ducking into the back room when she saw him give her an understanding nod.  
She didn’t really have anything to do back there, but she went to the mirror and quickly adjusted her hair, straightened her apron and brushed away a little dirt on her arms from the potted plants.   
Pausing, she glanced around until she found a random stack of stickers.   
She walked out of the backroom, holding them in an obvious way that he could see, as if he was looking for an excuse, before throwing them haphazardly under the counter.   
“She loved them!” He blurted out before she could even ask.   
He was grinning ear to ear at her. “She absolutely loved them. She took pictures of them and shared it and everything. She said it was perfect for the season.”  
Annabeth grinned at the compliment. Glad her choice had been so well received.   
“I’m glad to hear that! Super-mom deserves the best flowers after all.” She teased lightly, earning another adorable blush from him.   
“Yeah.” Was all he said, before his face scrunched up like he was disappointed in his own response.   
A small laugh escaped Annabeth’s mouth despite herself at that.   
He looked at her, but a smile crept across his face as he watched her laugh.   
“I just wanted to say thanks.” He said, scratching the back of his neck slightly.   
Annabeth tried to think of anything she could say to prolong their conversation. He was refreshing to engage with, and didn’t want him to walk back out that door again. Surely she wouldn’t see him again.   
Instead of leaving, she watched him walk across the store to the corner. Reaching over, her grabbed another single blue tulip.  
She raised an eyebrow, her mind racing. Surely it was a coincidence.   
He walked over and stood by the counter awkwardly.  
Walking around the counter she grabbed it and started to ring it up.  
Sure enough, when she handed him the change, he gave her the flower.  
“As thanks again for helping me. I figured the other flower might be a bit lonely.”  
Smiling, Annabeth took it quicker this time. “It was.” She offered, smelling the flower slightly.   
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to tell it who bought it’s friend.”  
Percy laughed. “I hope they get along.”  
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but still smiled.   
Percy laughed died into a soft smile. “For real though, thank you again. It was a big day for my Mom and I wanted to do a good job and because of you I did.”  
His sincerity made Annabeth’s cheeks flush. “That’s my job. I’m honestly just glad I could help.”  
He glanced once more at the flower, smiling.   
“I hope your boyfriend isn’t mad about the gifts.” He offered, looking sheepish.  
“I don’t have one.” She offered, raising an eyebrow. Was that a test?  
But he looked genuinely surprised. “Oh! But you’re so…” He trailed off. He seemed to catch himself before he could finish the sentence. He flushed slightly and turned around. “Well, thank you again. I’ll see you around!”   
He promised, before he was out the door.  
Annabeth was left glaring at the door.   
“I’m so what?” She muttered, a little more than annoyed that he hadn’t finished that sentence. She knew it was probably a compliment, but now her overactive mind was going to think about that for ages. Still, her eyes wandered back down to the second blue tulip she had received from him and smiled. Her little hallmark story had continued a little more it seemed.   
When she got home she added the tulip to the other one, and posted another picture of it.   
“Everyone needs a friend.” Was the comment. A minute later her phone was buzzing so consistently she wondered who would be calling her at that hour until she saw it had been a string of frantic and inquisitive texts from Piper as she declared she was coming over to hear the details.   
So while Annabeth gorged herself on the chinese food Piper brought over, she recounted the two days in details.  
Piper leaned back. “I can’t believe my little Annabeth is finally starting her love story.”  
Glaring at her friend, Annabeth would have thrown a pillow if she wasn’t worried about spilling food on her own couch.   
“He was just an appreciative customer.”  
Her friend scoffed at her. “Yeah sure. And I’m just slightly appreciative of my boyfriend.” She turned back to Annabeth. “A guy bought you a flower. Twice. Then asked if you were single.”   
Annabeth didn’t have anything to say so she just ate another piece of orange chicken.  
“On the bright side, it seems his mom already likes you.” Piper teased, earning a pillow being thrown at her.   
Annabeth figured she could clean up the rice on her couch later.

XxXxXxXxX

Annabeth definitely hadn’t expected to see him the next day. Especially to see him walk in while an old lady was bitching about an out of season flowers not being in their stock, that special ordering it would take too long.   
Apparently her stress had been showing on her face, because when he entered he went from a nervous smile to concern immediately. She had been so stressed, she hadn’t even had time to register that the guy had come into her shop for three days in a row.   
However, Percy was soon standing behind the lady, making exaggerated gestures and mocking her speech silently from behind.   
Annabeth had to bite her lip as he cocked his hip out and gestured with his finger as the lady in front of him continued to get angry.   
Eventually she looked back and Percy was standing there normally like nothing was happening and Annabeth smiled as she tried to finish the order the lady had settled with.   
The lady complained about her attitude, but Percy was now laying it on thick, pushing up imaginary glasses as he gestured with his whole body. A stifled laugh escaped Annabeth and the lady whipped around, catching Percy as he made a dramatic motion.   
He froze, caught off guard.   
“How dare you!” The lady started off, struggling to find words. “To be such an asshole.”  
Percy raised his eyebrow, and Annabeth could see him stand up a little straighter. A mildly mischievous smile crossed his face. One part of her knew she should probably stop it, but she was dying to know what he was going to say next.  
“I’m the asshole? You’re the one harrassing a poor lady behind a counter because you can’t accept that the world doesn’t cater to your fucking whims. Maybe if you pull garden post you have shoved up your ass out, you could find out she actually wants to help you and everyone can move on with their life.”  
Annabeth’s jaw drop as the lady sputtered to find words, utterly flabbergasted.  
Percy just pulled out a packet of gum, taking a bit before leaning past the lady to offer the pack to Annabeth. “Want one?”  
Annabeth shook her head no, but had to turn around to smother her laughs as the lady still look shocked by Percy’s outburst.   
Finally regaining some sense of composure, she found the lady was swiping her credit card, awfully quiet now.  
Annabeth just smiled sweetly as she finished the transaction, wishing her a good day when she vowed to tell the manager and get her fired.   
Annabeth knew Chiron well after all the years she’s worked there, and knew Chiron would have banned her himself if he had been there.  
Percy just walked up holding another blue tulip.   
Annabeth wrung it up while he leaned on the counter.   
“Well that was fun.”  
Annabeth motioned to give him back the flower, but he gave it back to her after switch hands.   
She smiled and put it in another vase for now.  
“That surprised me.”  
Percy looked a little sheepish. “Sorry. I hope you don’t actually get in trouble. I actually have a bit of a habit of getting in trouble with my mouth.”  
She could think of a few other things he could do with his mouth that would get him in less trouble. Namely kissing her.  
Annabeth waved her hand dismissively. “The owner is cool, he wouldn’t stand for her crap. You did fine. I was just surprised such a mama’s boy said something like that.”  
Percy blushed and pulled the beanie down a little lower. “Like I said, I love my mom because she hasn’t kicked me out after getting in so much trouble.”  
Leaning on the countered she smiled at him. “She does sound great. What’s the flower for this time?” She asked, a teasing smile on her lips.   
“For dealing with her.” He offered. “Which was convenient, because I was kinda running out of excuses to talk to you.”  
Blushing, Annabeth glanced back at the blue tulip and smiled again before turning back to him. “Well that certainly got my attention.”

XxXxXxXxX

It turned out that wasn’t the last time she would see him come in and buy a single blue tulip. The next three days he had made his way in to buy one. Except on the last day she hadn’t actually been working, and Piper had texted her, asking if the “super hot guy with the blue tulip” was him.   
Apparently he had found out she wasn’t working and felt awkward. But that was when Piper had realized that her Percy, and the best friend of Piper’s boyfriend had been the same guy.   
That had also served as a conversation topic for them. By the time Annabeth had seven flowers in her vase, she had learned a lot about Percy.   
He lived with mom in her apartment to help her pay the bills and worked in a nearby candy shop that she owned. He loved music, and when he wasn’t adorably flustered, he had a mouth that could get him into trouble pretty easily. He said it wasn’t his fault that he got so nervous around pretty girls and that she should apologize for being too pretty.  
Their conversations were much more natural now, and she genuinely looked forward to seeing him come in.   
Until the one time she was sent home early due to Chiron being in the shop and training a new person. So with a free day and nothing left to do, she had texted Piper, who had gotten his work place from her boyfriend and she decided to surprise him.  
When she walked in the small candy shop, she wasn’t sure what to expect.   
It certainly wasn’t him dancing behind a counter, singing out the words to “She Looks So Perfect” by Five Seconds of Summer.]  
“You look so perfect, standing there in my american apparel underwear.” He sang out, causing Annabeth to cover her mouth to hide her laughs.  
He turned around, seeing her and his eyes widened. His hands shot out towards his phone that was plugged in on the counter. Except he clipped the side of the counter, knocking the phone off it.   
“Fuck!” He yelled out, shaking his hand in pain as he dove halfway over the counter, barely catching the phone before it smashed into the floor.  
He glanced up at her, still practically laying on the counter. She watched him pause the music while she realized he did have a rather cute butt from that position.  
He stood up slowly, brushing off his apron before looking at her with a flustered expression. “Don’t tell my mom.”   
Annabeth just burst out laughing, having to lean against the counter for support. Annabeth definitely made the right choice by stopping by.  
He looked a little embarrassed as he slowly turned back up the classic music in the store.  
“I’m not supposed to play my music during work hours. Little kids come in here and most of my songs have questionable lyrics.”   
Annabeth was still snickering. “I promise not to tell.”  
He flashed her a grateful smile. “So what are you doing here, aside from making me make a fool of myself.”  
“You did that yourself.”  
He pouted but shrugged. “You didn’t answer.”  
“I didn’t, did I?” Annabeth said, before turning and walking around the store checking out the various barrels and containers of candy.   
“Sweet tooth?” He asked, following her around.  
I could take a bite out of you. She thought to herself, but didn’t have nearly enough confidence to say something that flirty.  
“Chiron let me out early today. Figured I’d see where you worked if you’re going to bug me at mine all the time.” She said teasingly, pausing when she didn’t hear a response. She saw him looking a little nervous and felt a rush of guilt.   
“I’m kidding. I was kinda sad that I would probably miss you, plus I figured I’d say you the price of a tulip.”  
A grin spread across his face, and Annabeth decided she liked that look a lot more on him. But then it shifted into something slightly off.   
“I’m kinda glad. Those things are getting expensive.” He confessed, making her laugh.  
“I will miss bringing one home though.”  
“What if I give you a tulip at dinner this weekend?”  
Annabeth dropped the candy bar she was checking out, turning to look at him. “What?” She asked, her throat dry.  
She could tell he was starting to panic. “I just mean… it’d be cool to talk. Outside of work…” He offered, his confidence deflating by the moment.   
Annabeth smiled and fidgeted with some of her hair that had escaped her ponytail. “Yeah. That’d be cool.” She replied, cursing the fact her wit was failing her again.   
They continued to chat, Percy offering his advice on his favorite snacks until his mom had come back. She had made sure to thank Annabeth for picking out the flowers, and Annabeth excused herself to head home and do work. She had barely sent the text to Piper about her date before she had been ordered to wait at the corner so she could come pick her up and they could go shopping.   
Annabeth was pretty sure her best friend was more excited for her to be dating than she was.  
Sure enough, when Percy met her at her door, he was standing there with a single blue tulip.

She also wasn’t too surprised when she saw him drop to one knee two years later when they had taken a trip and stopped by a flower garden. 

When she was standing next to him at the altar, she once again thought that his eyes still went very well with her favorite blue tulips.


	5. Pining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy has it bad for his best friend. Everyone in the world but her seems to realize it too. Still, he can't completely complain. They're close as can be, and as long as he can be with her, he thinks he can survive.

Shoving his backpack into the locker, he pulled out his math book. Reaching for an energy drink that was a few days old, he tried to psych himself up for his morning classes. He hadn’t slept well, but he didn’t want to deal with both his mother and Annabeth giving him hell for skipping another day of classes.   
Speaking of a certain blond, his eyes wandered over to the side of his locker where there was only a single picture on it amidst all the skateboarding and band stickers that littered the inside of it. It wasn’t that old, they had taken it this summer.  
It was Annabeth and Percy, they had their arms around each other’s shoulders, their cheeks pressed together. They had spent the whole day at an amusement park, their parents had even sent them with extra money, so it really became a day to remember. They were both in the middle of laughing as Annabeth took a selfie, because his mother had asked for pictures in return. The picture brought a smile to Percy’s face, like it always did, and suddenly the morning felt a little brighter.  
Closing the locker door, he jumped about a foot in the air when he saw aforementioned blonde leaning her head against the locker door on the other side of his, staring at him with an expectant smirk.   
“Shit, Annabeth. You scared the crap outta me.” Percy complained, putting a hand over his heart.   
Annabeth just laughed at him, turning to rest her back against the locker as she failed to keep her composure. If anyone else had done that to him, Percy might have punched them. But with Annabeth, seeing her laugh meant he could forgive her. He could never hit her. Except maybe gently with his lips on her face.   
Shaking his head, he turned away from her, pouting. “Rude.”  
Annabeth managed to catch her breath and just sighed, a smile still plastered on her face.   
“Sorry, you were zoned out. I said Hi and everything and you didn’t notice. Here, as an apology.”  
Looking down, Percy saw her holding out a cup of some kind. ‘  
“Hot chocolate, extra whipped cream.” She informed, smiling as he took it. With her now free hand, she reached up and messed up his already disheveled hair. “Sorry, for real.” She said, a level of honesty in her voice that made Percy’s heart hurt. As if he could ever actually be mad at her.   
“It’s fine. I’ll get you back later.” He countered, taking a sip before he could say anything more flirty carelessly.   
Annabeth’s eyes widened. “I already apologized. You don’t need to get even.” She started to complain, looking mildly worried. Percy just snickered, knowing how easy Annabeth was to spook and how much she hated it. She had a habit of getting way too focused on things and would zone out the world.   
Percy just kept walking towards his class, unable to meet her eyes without giving away the fact he already forgave her and wouldn’t seek retaliation.  
“Did you study for the test?” She asked suddenly, glancing up at him.   
Percy froze midstep. “You’re kidding…”  
He saw Annabeth’s shoulders drop as she sighed. “He mentioned it twice last week. It’s over the fifth chapter.”  
Dropping his head into his free hand, he turned and started walking back towards his locker. He’d just have to make up the test tomorrow. He barely made it a step before Annabeth’s hand reached out and caught his, keeping him in place.  
“You’re not running this time. I promised Sally I wouldn’t let you skip any more classes.” She said a stern look in her eyes.   
She continued to say something about responsibility and how he should do better, but he was too distracted by the fact that Annabeth was holding his hand. His eyes were glued to where their hands met, and he was once again thinking about how perfectly her hand fit in his. That had to mean something right? Like that his massive crush on his best friend wasn’t just some cruel trick of nature but that they were meant to be together right? At least he sure hoped so.  
“Are you even listening?” She said after a moment, eyes narrowing dangerously.  
His attentioned snapped back to her. “Yeah. I screwed up and I’m about to fail another test.” He offered, trying to keep his tone light to hide the frustration he felt for himself.   
For as irresponsible as he was, he actually did feel bad about struggling in school. If not for himself, but for the fact that he knew it disappointed his mom and Annabeth.   
“Unfortunately, I care about you too much to let you suffer, even if I should. She said, pointedly giving him a glare before reaching into her folder and pulling out two pieces of paper stapled together.   
His eyes widened. “You didn’t…”  
Sure enough they were perfect “Annabeth Notes.” As he liked to put it. They had studied together enough that Annabeth knew exactly how to get information across his thick head. They were organized, color coded, and simplified in a way that let him digest the information easily.   
Annabeth shrugged. “Unfortunately I did.” She said, grinning. “It won’t teach you everything, but if you review it you should have your bases covered. As long as you did pay attention in class.”  
Percy grinned, holding the notes close. “I did.” He paused. “I told you guys I would try harder, so I have been. I just get distracted sometimes and I’m bad at remembering things. But I have been trying.” He explained, trying to get her to understand so she wouldn’t be too dissappointed in him.   
Annabeth smiled and reach up, putting her hand on his arm. “I know Perce, it’s okay. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” The understanding in her voice made his heart hurt with how much he cared about her.  
“Now let’s go, we should get there early so you can study before the test.”  
Percy nodded, and sure enough when the test was eventually handed out he recognized each question at least a little. It wouldn’t be a perfect score, but he was pretty sure his mom wouldn’t be disappointed to hear it. As he made his way to the lunch room he was already planning out how he could make it up to Annabeth for saving his butt, again.  
When he walked into the cafe, he was surprised to see Annabeth sitting at one of the tables near the entrance, checking her phone. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled brightly and jumped up. “How’d it go?”   
“Incredible, thanks to you.”  
Annabeth blushed slightly and played with her hair and Percy wondered if she watched like cheesy romance movies in order to be so unbearably cute to him, or if it was just another one of her many talents. Either way, he was thankful.   
“All I did was take some notes, you’re the one doing the work.” She dismissed, but he saw hints of her proud smile there.   
“Here.” He said, starting to pull out her notes.  
She stopped him, shaking her head. “Keep them. They’re for you. Study them before the final.” She warned. He paused. “But what about you?”  
Shrugging, she started walking towards the line. “I have my original notes. I made those for you.” She said as she got in line.  
Percy just put the notes away, mentally adding that to the list of reasons why he was crushing so hard on her. It was up there with her smile, and the fact she existed.  
“Didn’t you eat? You got out like thirty minutes early when you finished.”  
Annabeth gave him a look like he was stupid for the first time that day. “I waited, otherwise I would have just had to wait while you eat.” She explained, as if that didn’t need explaining.   
“Oh.” Was all he said as she started to order her food.  
Soon they were siting at their usual table while their friends started sitting around them. Percy started chatting with Piper about the concert she went to Jason with the night before. Annabeth was sitting next to him, facing away while she chatted with Jason about one of their AP classes.   
“... so I got one of their shirts. You should have seen Jason’s face while I talked my way past the bouncers to them to sign it. He was freaking out, but the guys were reasonable enough so I got to meet the band.”  
“Damn, I’m jealous. You know how much I love them. If I didn’t have to take care of my sister I would have been there.”  
Piper nodded. “I know. So for being a good brother…” She trailed off, before pulling something out of her bag and handing it to him. “Here. And as an early birthday present so I don’t have to worry about it later.” She teased.  
Percy unfolded the bundle of black cloth to see another band shirt, signed by all the band members.  
“McClean! Are you kidding me?” He practically shouted, making the table turn to look at him. “You’re incredible!”   
Piper just grinned. “About time you realized it.” She teased, giving a peace sign to Jason who seemed thrilled to see Percy’s reaction to gift.  
“Oh, that’s so sick.”  
Annabeth’s voice said from right next to his ear, making a shiver go up his spine. He glanced over, and her leaning over his back, resting her chin on his shoulder as she stared at the shirt he was holding out in front of him. “Pipes, damn you. That’s going to be hard to beat for his birthday.” She complained, still grinning.  
Percy’s eyes flickered from his blonde best friend that was wonderfully way too close over to Piper who was looking incredibly amused. He sometimes hated the fact that Piper could see through him so well and knew just how he felt about Annabeth. She found endless amusement and frustration from it. Percy kept looking at her to try and distract himself of the feeling of Annabeth leaning against him.  
“Part of it was Jason’s idea. I can’t take all the credit.” She relented.  
Annabeth leaned back, shifting back again so her back was to Percy as she started scolding Jason, saying it made her job as best friend much harder.   
Percy set the shirt down, hiding the blush in his cheeks while Piper just leaned her chin on her palm, giving him the most amused smile. “You still got it bad, huh?”  
Percy glared at her, before glancing over his shoulder at Annabeth who was still distracted. “Shhh. Is it that obvious?”  
Piper rolled her eyes. “To everyone but her. You two are like those hallmark movies except you don’t actually make any progress and everyone is stuck in the state of screaming ‘just kiss already’ eternally.”  
He couldn’t really say anything to that. He had a feeling that Annabeth might have some feelings to him, thanks to Piper literally spelling it out to him multiple times. But he still wasn’t sure about actually acting on it. They had a good thing going, and being in a relationship was… different. Probably good, but it was different. He was terrified of disappointing her somehow if they ended up together. She deserved the world, and he wasn’t sure he would be enough.  
Piper apparently could read his thoughts because she reached over, flicking his knee.   
“I’m serious. You’re the only one I trust to be with her. Just… think about it.”  
She said her voice dropping as she was sincere. “You deserve her as much as she deserves you.”  
Jason apparently said something funny because Annabeth suddenly burst out laughing a moment later, leaning back against Percy, resting on his back as she just laughed.   
Freezing in place, percy just let her laugh, his own face breaking into a smile at that sound.   
Piper flicked his knee again. “But also because if I have to watch you two keep going in circles around each other, I’m going to lose it.”  
Percy rolled his eyes, but just brushed some of Annabeth’s hair that fell over his shoulder. Eventually Annabeth sat back up and looked back at him. “Thanks.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye as she still snickered and Percy kinda forgot how to speak. Turning back to Piper he just sighed. “Maybe…”  
Eventually school was over and Annabeth was at his side as they walked over to his car, explaining how she had finally the perfect idea for her math project, and her teacher said she was aloud to build a miniature house model for some bonus credit too.   
“Want to get Sonic?” He asked once she was done with the topic.   
Annabeth looked up at him, grinning. “You know I will never say no to that.”  
“That’s why I asked.” Percy countered, grinning as he got in the car. Sonic wasn’t exactly the closest burger place to school, but if the longer drive meant just a little more time with Annabeth, he wasn’t going to complain.

Outside the car, Annabeth grinned as she pulled out her phone. She quickly sent a message to Piper. “Studying is going to be a little late today. Percy’s taking me to Sonic.” She added a heart emoji for good measure and sent the message, before going back to her home screen. She paused, the picture of the two of them grinning, cheek to cheek was still her backdrop and he bit her lip to keep her smile suppressed. She loved that photo still.  
As she climbed in the car he was cranking up the music, singing slightly off key to a song that Annabeth was pretty sure she heard every time she was in her car.   
“Ready?” He asked her, before pulling out into the street and starting the long trek to Sonic.   
Sonic wasn’t exactly her favorite place, but if it meant a mini road trip with Percy, it would always be her first choice.


	6. Outsmarted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Annabeth are pitted against each other in another game of capture the flag. Will things go as they usually do?

“Are you sure you want to do this, Seaweed Brain?”  
Annabeth asked, leaning against the pillar as she looked at her boyfriend practicing with his sword. He was in the training arena, and had discarded his shirt so Annabeth was certainly enjoying the view.  
He went through with a few more slashes, before capping his sword and putting it back in his pocket. He turned around, out of breath as he looked at her with a grin that usually crept on his face when he saw her.  
She watched some sweat drip down the side of his face, dropping onto his shoulder. Her eyes trailed a little more downwards. Geez, her boyfriend was getting hotter with age and it wasn’t fair but entirely welcome. Feeling her cheeks start to flush, she quickly threw his shirt at him as she looked away, biting her lip.  
“He pulled the shirt off his face and pulled it on quickly. “It’s just one match. It’s been a while.”  
Annabeth nodded, now that he was a little more modest and less distracting.  
“I know. But…” She trailed off, reaching an arm over to grab her other arm. She hated saying it, it made her feel weak.  
However he seemed to pick up on her. He crossed over and pulled her into a tight hug.   
“I know. I don’t like being against you either. If you don’t want to we can drop out. I just owed the stolls.”  
Annabeth shook her head. “It’s fine.” She took a deep breath before looking up at him. “I just feel bad crushing you after so long.”  
Percy laughed, tickling her side slightly making her squirm. “I wouldn’t count me out, Wise Girl. I’ve been planning.”  
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Feeling confident are we?”  
He shrugged. “I’ve had the best teacher after all.”  
Annabeth just laughed. “Bring it.”  
Percy smirked, before bending down quickly and scooping her legs up and out front under her, carrying her bridal style.  
She laughed and swatted at his chest, before holding her arms around her neck.  
“Percy! Put me down!”  
He just continued to laugh at her as he carried her towards the dining hall. “I’m hungry.”  
She tried to scold him between her fits of laughter. “But I can walk!”  
He shrugged with her. Annabeth had to admit she was a little impressed with how well he could carry her. Reaching up, she tilted his chin to give him a proper kiss.  
That seemed to be enough of a distraction, and she managed to free herself to stand on her own.   
“Brat.” She muttered, before stepping forward and resuming their kiss. Eventually she took his hand and started leading him back to the hall. “Let’s get lunch now.”

XxXxXxXxX

Crouching behind a bush, Annabeth made sure her hat was on securely as she moved silently through the forest.   
The game had started as usual, her plan being put into action. Their quests had only made Percy a better fighter over time. Usually she could count on him as a force of nature to distract people, but now that he was a problem instead, that meant she had to take care of him. That also meant that she had to ensure she didn’t get too distracted by him and leave holes in her plan.   
Clarisse was leading the charge for the flag, which meant she would handle defense. She knew her boyfriend well enough to know that he wouldn’t be content sitting around guarding a flag. He would be on the offense.  
She just needed a plan, and to keep him away from water. Then they could stand a chance.  
Sure enough, before long she saw him. He breezed past some poor first year who encountered him, overwhelming him, disarming him and rushing past. Right where she needed him to go.  
Letting out a loud sharp three whistles, she heard her teammates move according to their earlier plans.   
They would be ready.   
Moving off to the side, she continued to follow Percy without engaging him. She had to be patient. His combat senses had gotten even better since he had first arrived.  
He burst past some trees, only to see nine campers lined up in a half arc in front of him.   
Will had approached with his bow drawn. “Ready, Jackson?”  
She took a step towards him from behind, but saw him crouch down slightly, spinning his word in his hand. The campers faltered for a moment. Was he really going to try and take them on?  
Annabeth tensed as she saw Percy take a step forward, before he turned and sprinted back into the woods.  
Smirking, Annabeth was glad. He was falling right into her trap.  
She continued to follow, speeding up now. He was heading straight towards the river. If he reached it, she wouldn’t be able to touch him.  
On cue, two more of her allies darted out from the tears to his side, cutting him off and forcing him to run alongside the river, rather than reaching it. Smirking, she continued to run along with him from a distance. She just needed to tire him out in order to make an opportunity. All it would take would be a moment of hesitation and she could slip in.   
Her boyfriend was much smarter than many believed based off how he acted, she knew in battle he was dangerous to underestimate. So she just had to keep stacking the odds against him until he slipped.  
He started to try and cut over to the river, but a few arrows from the Apollo cabin convinced him to keep running instead.  
Eventually she saw him stumble a bit, leaning to put his hands on his knees and catch his breath. She almost felt bad for running him around so much.   
Her senses were on overdrive as she crept forward, not making a sound as she approached him from behind, slowly drawing her dagger.   
Striking forward like a snake, she was behind him in an instant, dagger against his throat.   
“Gotcha, honey.” She said, feeling him tense up before she kissed the back of his neck. “Now give me riptide and I’ll escort you back, if you would be so kind.” She said, seeing him slowly extend his hand with riptide out to the side.   
“What, no come back?” She teased, until she saw him dive to the side suddenly.   
Her eyes widened, but before she could react, the sound of a rope being pulled taut made her realize her mistake.   
Before she could move the rope closed around her ankle and shot backwards, throwing her off balance and dragging her a few feet, the fall knocking her hat off her head as she shimmered back into existence.   
“When did you-” She was cut off as Percy was suddenly kneeling on her back, Riptide stuck into the ground inches from her neck.  
He quickly took her dagger from her, and she saw her hat sticking out of his back pocket.   
He was grinning at her as he took a step back now that she was disarmed. For safety reasons you couldn’t bind and gag prisoners, but the rules of the game she was caught.  
“How did you plant that trap?”  
He shrugged. “I’m not too good with ropes. But the stolls are pretty handy with them.”  
Glaring at him, she let out a sharp piercing whistle.   
She saw a few more athena kids step out of the bushes as she felt her hopes rise. Her backup had been nearby.   
At least until she saw her hands up, a few hermes kids with their swords at their back.  
Annabeth just stared at Percy as he high fived one of them.   
“But there shouldn’t be that many left back in this area…”  
He looked at her, his lopsided smile still on her face that was both cute and infuriating at the moment.   
“I made sure we held back on attack until we captured you this time. Come on.” He said, escorting her back towards the prisons for his side.   
Percy escorted her personally, and she was glad to see that he took care of her hat himself rather than letting some other camper handle her treasure.   
“How did you know I’d catch you there?” She asked after a little walking in silence. Her mind was still reeling as she tried to figure out how her plan had gone wrong.   
“Because I lead you there.” He countered.   
Her brow furrowed. “But you were going for the flag.”  
Shaking his head, he glanced back at her before walking forward. It was clear he was trying not to gloat or sound smug, probably since he knew her pride wasn’t too happy right now.   
“I wasn’t. I know you, Wise Girl. I knew the second we were enemies, you would find a way to make sure I couldn’t do anything. I knew you would also know whatever I tried to do. You’re too smart for me.” He offered.   
“Says the one escorting a prisoner right now.” She offered, still not fond of hearing him insult his own intelligence.   
“That’s because I had faith in you. I knew whatever I tried to do would probably work into your plans. So I knew I had to be careful and let others take care of things if I was going to beat you. I also knew that you wouldn’t leave stopping me to someone else.”  
Annabeth faltered, feeling completely caught. He was right. She knew how strong she was, so she didn’t want to trust anyone else to take care of him. Her pride told her that she needed to do it to do it right. Especially since the other person she would usually count on was him.   
“So I just waited until I inevitably fell into your trap, ran towards where I needed to go, since there was no way you would let me get to the river, and waited. Since you prefer sneaking up with your cap, I stood in place and waited.”  
He finished explaining, looking a little proud of himself.   
Annabeth was speechless as they finally reached the prisons as he lead her into it.   
She paused, looking at him.   
“That was brilliant. You completely got me.” She muttered.   
He looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really. A lot of it was luck. And I could only do it because I know you so well Wise Girl.” Annabeth shook her head, pulling on the front of his shirt to kiss him.  
She felt him tense up, his hands moving to his sword and her cap as she smiled into the kiss slightly. He really wasn’t letting his guard down, not that she would use a kiss to trick him. Her affection was something she never wanted him to doubt or be wary of. Eventually, he seemed to get the hint and kissed her back before she stepped back.   
“You’re kind hot when you act all smart.” She confessed to him, laughing at the blush that crept on his cheeks.   
The other guards coughed once awkwardly, making Annabeth curse herself as she realised she was still in public surrounded by other campers as she stepped back and let the prison be closed.   
“I still have more plans out there, be careful, babe.” She warned as she took a seat.  
Percy just flashed her a smile, before pulling out her cap and pulling it over his own head and vanishing. “With you? Always.”  
Annabeth leaned back, smiling as she heard him run off into the forest. The game was over, Percy was on the top of his game and had outsmarted her today. Their team didn’t stand a chance. Just today, she’d let him have the win. Her pride would be fine with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a vent piece. There are a lot of tropes that get on my nerves, including flawless, always winning Annabeth. Primarily though, I really hate stories that have Annabeth tricking Percy with kisses. Tricking people you love with affection isn't cute. Punishing people you love for trusting you isn't clever or cute, it's toxic and one of my biggest pet peeves. So I wrote this. xD More ridiculous fluff coming soon. Let me know if you want me to keep adding to this collection, I have plenty backlogged from my Tumblr!


	7. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy, determined to be the best brother ever, takes his little sister to a pop-up magic show for the great "Athena". The show definitely disappoint, and neither does she when he introduces his little sister to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off a prompt I got over on my Tumblr! Sorry for the delay with any updates for his collection.

“Are you ready?” Percy asked, hoisting his little sister a little higher in his arms to fix his grip.  
She giggled and threw her little hands up! “Yeah! Let’s do this!” She declared, giggling.  
Percy laughed and pushed the door open to the small little magic shop, tucked away in the corner of downtown.  
Honestly, she still couldn’t believe he managed to get tickets. The magician had been scheduled for one of the large performance halls, but she had apparently decided to do a “pop-up show” At some local magic shop for a small group of people, first come first serve. Luckily Percy had been checking her Twitter to see if there were any tickets for her other show yet when he saw the tweet. He had been quick enough to grab two of the smaller tickets thankfully.  
Now that his sister was starting to get a little older and develop an interest in various things, she had seen a magic show on TV and was obsessed with it.  
So Percy, determined to be the best older brother he could, felt it was his responsibility to take her to a magic show. After a night of googling various magicians, had found one that was pretty popular that went by “Athena.”  
So here he was now, shuffling his way into one of the foldable chairs that had been set up in the small magic shop, in front of a stage. There was a small motley crew of other people there, some parents taking excited kids, some people who looked like might have been magicians themselves based off how comfortable they seemed, and a few couples that were probably out on a date.  
They had a few minutes before the show started, so Percy put down their jackets to reserve their seats and let Estelle run around the shop, looking at the various things. She was well behaved, due to his mom being the best in the world, so he just stayed close to her but let her have fun. He had promised to let her pick out one thing, so she was staring at everything with the most serious expression he had seen on his little sister as if her life depended on it.  
Eventually announced that the show was starting and he had to corale his sister back to the seats, promising her that she could look after the show.  
He leaned over as the lights started to dim. “You need to be behaved during the show, okay? Don’t distract the magician or the magic won’t work!”  
Estelle nodded. “Duh!” Percy bit back a smile, she definitely had his attitude too. “Mom told me to be quiet when she’s doing her magic. I’m not a kid.” She said, pouting and crossing her arms.  
Percy just messed up her hair, nodding. “Of course.”  
The lights dimmed, and a spotlight was placed on the stage. Honestly, Percy wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the show. All the clips he had seen of her on youtube had her on these large stages, with smoke machines, dramatic light cues and amazing tricks that required more space than the shop had. She was a show woman for sure.  
Instead though, she stepped out from behind a heavy red curtain. She seemed like she had stepped out of time. She was wearing an old fashioned suit, with two long coattails. He saw a neat long braid resting over one shoulder. She walked out, and the group offered her a polite applause. She glanced across the crowd, gave them off a smirk dripping with confidence and fell forward into a well practiced bow.  
She stood up, tapping her foot and held out her hand as a staff appeared out of nowhere into it.  
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my show!”  
She smirked and instantly Percy knew he was in for a show. And she certainly didn’t disappoint.  
The show had been a lot smaller than what he had seen on youtube. Simpler tricks that were done so flawlessly he honestly had no idea how most of them were done. Meanwhile her wit kept the group laughing the entire time as she would ramble on, weaving stories and telling jokes that had him laughing the entire time. Once she had even called for volunteers, and Estelle had stood up on her seat raising her hand before he could sit her down. Athena had laughed and called on her, motioning for Percy to bring her up.  
So Percy had scooped her and helped her to the front of the stage. It was a card trick that had completely blown his mind. He thought he had figured it out, but the twist at the end left him as speechless as Estelle was. She gave him one last smirk before she dismissed him back to his seat.  
She was clearly having a blast with the show.  
The rest of the show wasn’t a disappointment either. She had a seemingly endless amount of tricks, flowing from one to another smoothly. Eventually the show ended to a massive standing ovation.  
While Percy hadn’t been sure what he expected, other than hoping for something that wasn’t awkward and clumsy, he had never expected to have so much fun. Estelle also seemed to have had the time of her life based off how often she was cheering and clapping with all the tricks.  
Athena was left standing there in a bow as she seemed to bask in the applause for a moment, before standing up, tipping her hat, then vanishing back behind the curtain as the lights in the store were turned back up.  
The crowd slowly dispersed as some people settled into purchasing some stuff from the shop, while others loitered around, hoping to get a chance to talk to the magician.  
Glancing over Estelle was still grinning at him. “She was so cool!” Percy nodded, messing up her hair gently. “Right? Now how about we pick out that toy so you can be just like her?”  
Estelle nodded and ran off, going to where apparently she had decided to get her toy from.  
Percy followed after her, grinning as he relished in seeing how happy she looked. Estelle honestly did have the best smile in the world.  
It had taken another few minutes for Percy to finally get Estelle to decide on what to buy, before she took her up to the counter to buy it. As it was being rung up, Estelle was practically bouncing at his side.  
After the receipt was handed to him, he turned and offered the bag to the little girl. “Would you like to hold it?”  
He asked, but was surprised to see her staring off to the side at something else.  
Following her gaze, he saw Athena talking to someone.  
Estelle just tugged at them hem of his hoodie, still looking at Athena like she was seeing God.  
Grinning, he knew it was time for big brother to save the day. He thanked the cashier, before bending down and scooping up Estelle into an arm. He made his way over, putting on the confidence that was easy to have when he was doing something for his sister’s sake.  
He waited patiently, close enough to show he was interested in talking with her next, but not close enough to intrude onto the other conversation.  
Eventually the other person seemed to wave goodbye, and Athena met eyes with him for a moment, before she glanced over at Estelle and her eyes widened and he could practically see her heart melt. Estelle had that effect on people.  
Athena moved over to them, a confident smirk appearing on her face. “Well hello there, I hope you enjoyed the show!”  
“You were amazing!” Estelle said, throwing her arms up and nearly hitting Percy accidentally, but she seemed too excited to notice. “You’re so magical! It’s amazing! You’re my hero!”  
Adorably, Athena actually seemed to blush a little at the girl’s words.  
It was then Percy noticed that the magician was actually really beautiful. Her eyes were gray and stormy, only seeming to add to her air of confidence and power. But her smile was bright and friendly. She also looked really good in a suit.  
“Well thank you, I’m glad I could have such a cute fan.” She said. “ I think though, I might still have one more trick in me.”  
Estelle’s eyes widened. “Really?”  
Annabeth nodded. “I mean, a magician never let’s the show end, right?”  
Estelle nodded. “Of course!” She said with such confidence, Percy almost believed her for a moment.  
Athena laughed, before she seemed to move her hand for a moment, before meeting his eyes. A heartbeat later a flower appeared in her hands out of seemingly nowhere.  
Estelle let out a cheer as Athena laughed and handed her the flower. “A little gift for you. I put some of my magic in it, so I’ll let you have some.” She said with a wink as Estelle held it gingerly like it was the most precious thing in her life. Honestly, Percy thought it might have been at that moment.  
“Thank you!” She cooed, making both Percy’s and Athena’s heart melt.  
Pausing, he knew his mom might be a little mad at him spoiling her so much but he set her down gently.  
“Well, with all that magic in you, how about you go grab that other box? You need plenty of tricks if you’re going to be a magician after all!”  
Estelle’s eyes widened, before she reached up, making Percy lean down so she could wrap her tiny arms around his neck. “You’re the best big brother!” She declared, before running off to the nearby aisle. She was close enough that Percy could still see her so he turned his attention back to Athena for a moment.  
“I think you made my sister’s night. Thank you.”  
Athena brushed her braid back over her shoulder. “It was my pleasure, she’s adorable. She’s lucky to have such a good big brother it seems.”  
Percy felt a blush creep on his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. “I just try to do the best I can. She’s too cute to say no too anyway.” He paused. “Did you need that flower back?”  
Athena shook her head and smiled. “Nah, it’s nothing special. Just don’t tell her that.” She said with a wink. “The real magic was seeing her smile.”  
Percy nodded knowingly. “She has the cutest smile. I’m glad we got to catch this show.”  
The blonde magician nodded and shifted her weight. “That’s why I still do these small shows. I got started in tiny shops like this, and while it’s incredible to perform in front of an entire stage, there’s something unique about a small intimate crowd that just is irreplaceable. Making magic come to life in front of you? That’s the real fun.” She paused, glancing over at Estelle. “I was like her when I was a kid. I guess I’m finally paying it forward.”  
Percy gave her a soft smile. “Wow. You really are amazing. I was worried you’d be… I don’t know…” He trailed off. He wasn’t sure exactly what he expected, but certainly not someone as sincere as her.  
Athena laughed knowingly. “I know what you mean. Don’t worry. A big stage can go to your head easily, especially when your trade is making crowds of people dance in the palm of your hand. But I have some good friends that don’t let me forget where I got started. Piper won’t let my head get too big.” She said fondly.  
Percy nodded. “She sounds like a good friend. But you really were incredible. You blew my mind the entire show, and I know Estelle won’t stop talking about this for weeks.”  
“Then my job is done.” Athena said with a slight bow, before nudging his side. “I think she needs her super brother.”  
Glancing over, he saw Estelle standing on the tips of her toes as she reached for a box that was just out of reach.  
“Careful!” Percy said a little too quickly, moving over to get it before she could accidentally pull something heavy down onto her.  
Glancing back, he saw Athena watching them with a soft smile. She gave him a tiny thumbs up, and Percy blushed. She was too cute. A brilliant showman, and a genuine person?  
Moving back with Estelle he paused. “What do you say to Athena?”  
Estelle held the big box in her hands but grinned. “Thank you for the magic flower! I promise I’ll do all sorts of magic!”  
Athena smiled. “I hope one day I can watch you on stage! I look forward to it.”  
Estelle saluted, making them laugh as Annabeth reached out with one hand, shaking Estelles as Percy watched his sister giggled happily.  
Almost reluctantly, he knew he had to get Estelle back soon. “It’s getting pretty late for her, but it was really… really nice talking to you. Thank you again, for everything.”  
He said as Athena just bowed in response, tipping her hat. “The show must go on.”  
Percy paid for the second set for Estelle as he watched Athen turn back to finish packing up some things.  
As they were about to leave, he paused. He knew once he walked out that door, he’d never get the chance to talk to her again, and she was a magical experience he really wanted to see more of. He at least had to try. He set down Estelle for a second. “Wait right here, I need to tell Athena one last thing, okay?” Estelle hummed in response, she was too busy staring at the big box she was holding.  
Percy quickly made his way over to Athena. “Hey, sorry to bother you…”  
The woman turned around, surprised before she grinned. “Did you need a magic flower too?”  
He laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “No, but I was hoping I could give you my number.” His cheeks were burning as he felt his confidence starting to falter. Asking a woman out who was way out of his league was much harder than introducing his sister to her hero. “You were just… really cool to talk to. I’d like to do it again sometime…” He said, proud he didn’t flub any of the words.  
The blonde looked surprised for a moment as a blush crept on her cheeks. A sly smile crept on her face. “Well you already have mine, so I suppose that’s fair.”  
Percy’s face went blank. “What? I don’t…”  
She just gave him a smug grin, before pointing at her side.  
He was confused for a moment, as his hand instinctively went to his pocket. He paused as he reached in it, feeling a card he definitely didn't have in there when he entered the shop.  
Pulling it out, he found a small notecard with a phone number and a little magicians hat drawn on it.  
His eyes widened as he looked up at her. “What? When did you… how…”  
The blonde just laughed at his expression, winking. “A magician never reveals her secrets.” She said, making him smile despite himself. “Besides, I wasn’t sure if you were going to ask me out or not, and I always plan ahead.”  
“You’re incredible.” He offered.  
“So you’ve said.” She teased, but the faint blush on her cheeks let Percy know she wasn’t quite as unflappable as she liked to appear.  
“I guess it’s my turn to impress you next time we see each other.”  
Her grin only widened. “I look forward to it.”  
Percy just gave her one more hopefully-not-too-goofy smile before he went back to take Estelle home. He definitely had his work cut out for him if he was going to impress her, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve too.


	8. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tis' the season for unresolved feelings and massive crushes on childhood friends!

“If you change the playlist, I’m drop kicking your Playstation out the window, Jason.” Percy called out as he heard the Christmas carol pause, before resuming a moment later, if not a little quieter.  
“Can’t you choose something less… boring?” He asked, walking around the corner of their small apartment. Raising an arm he leaned against the wall, staring at his roommate. Percy just ignored him as he ripped open another bag of chips, dumping them into one of the few tupperwares they had. “Grab the sodas.” He ordered, walking past Jason towards the tiny kitchen table that usually served little more purpose than a coat rack, aside from the occasional last minute, panicked study session.   
For once though, it was actually cleaned off properly, and he had even grabbed a tablecloth from his mom to borrow for the night.   
“It’s a Christmas party, Jason. We’re supposed to play carols.” He explained, snagging a chip and eating it before turning to face his best friend.   
Jason grabbed a chip himself, rolling his eyes. “Yeah yeah, tis’ the season and all of that. But there could be a little more pep, you know?”  
Percy paused, his shoulders slumping. “Maybe you’re right? Maybe modern stay stuff works better?” He paused, thinking for a moment. “But Hazel is coming over too so I don’t want to play too messed up stuff.” He glanced up at Jason, looking for help.  
Jason’s usual cocky smirk faded as he looked over. “Hey, I was just complaining. You’re fine, I’m sure they’ll love it.”   
Percy nodded. “That’s cool then…” He trailed off, glancing over the table of snacks and sodas. “Think we need more? I know Piper and Annabeth said they were bringing food but…”  
Jason walked over, resting a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Hey man, chill. Alright? Everything is fine. We still have some time and we’re just hanging out with some friends. I know you’re getting stressed.”  
Running a hand through his hair, Percy shook his head. “I’m not stressed, I just want to make sure things are… right.”  
Jason gave him a deadpan stare, making it clear he wasn’t falling for his crap. “Dude, your leg is bouncing as you’re freaking out over whether or not we have enough chips when I don’t think we’ve had this much food in our house in a month.”  
Staying quiet, Percy couldn’t exactly refute him. He knew himself well enough to know that his stress was starting to peak. “Okay, maybe a little.”  
Pulling out a chair, Jason sat down and slid the other chair back with his foot, motioning for Percy to sit down as he took another chip. “Talk.”  
Resisting only for a moment, Percy sighed and sat down, dropping his head into his hands. “I know, I’m stressing out. Sorry. I’ve just… never had a party or something like this. Usually my mom took care of things when I had friends over. Plus she’s coming over.”  
“She’s been over countless times.” Jason offered, letting his friend continue to get out what he needed to.  
“Right. But… I want tonight to be the night. It’s been so stressful around her. You know… since…”  
“Since you fell in love with your childhood friend?” Jason helpfully offered, laughing at the stricken look Percy got on his face. “Don’t say it so loud!”  
Jason rolled his eyes and dipped a chip in the onion dip. “Yeah, I almost forgot it’s the worst kept secret in the world.”  
Glaring the blonde, Percy narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be nice?”  
Shrugging, Jason returned the look. “I am, dude. When I met you two you were practically joined at the hip, and I’ve never seen that change in all these years. But since you started…” He paused at Percy’s glare. “...thinking differently about her, you’ve been stressing out over the little things, freaking out for no reason, and frankly we’re all getting a little worried about you. What you need a push in the right direction, for your sake.”  
Percy knew his friend wouldn’t lie to him. After Annabeth, Jason was his best friend for sure.   
“I know it’s cliche but I really don’t want to screw things up between us. Even if she might feel something too… I don’t want to do it wrong. I wish I could handle things as well as she does. She’s still so… perfect. ”  
Jason rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut. His girlfriend was Annabeth’s roommate, and he had heard first hand how objectively false that statement was. Percy was a victim of being hopelessly in love, which meant he had a habit of missing out on obvious things about Annabeth. The way her usual fluid speech tended to get flustered around him, or the way she had gone from a comfortable companionship with Percy, to jumping at the chance to be with him as eagerly as percy was. Even the way her eyes always were always drifting to him, with a soft smile he never saw her wear any other time.  
It was painfully obvious these two dorks were head over heels for each other, but were too scared to admit it. What really drove Piper and Jason crazy were that they were pretty sure they both knew it as well. After all, they did know each other better than anyone.They were just choosing to ignore it, writing it off as them just being their usual friend.  
Still, if Jason had to catch them being a moment away from kissing without going through with it again, he was about going to lock them in a closet until they were engaged.  
“Trust me. She’s got it as bad as you do. Tonight is the perfect opportunity to do it right.”  
Percy looked up at him. “You think?”  
Jason laughed. “I’m pretty sure you could confess behind a 7/11 and she’d still say yes dude. You just need to actually go for it.”  
Percy nodded. “Maybe you’re right…”  
Jason could sense his hesitation, but also the spark of confidence in him. Maybe tonight all of them could finally be put out of their misery. “Come on, we still need to put up these lights.” He said, grabbing a box of small tree lights and tossing them at him.   
Percy nodded, clearly grateful for something to do other than think and started to move to a corner to figure out how they were going to attach them to the walls without damaging them while Jason pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Piper.

XxXxXxXxX

“Do you think this is enough food?” Annabeth asked, pacing back and forth as she looked at the two pizzas, the bowl of pasta salad, and a tray of brownies for dessert.   
Piper raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? Even with the appetite of Jason and Percy, there aren’t that many other people there. We’re bringing plenty and Hazel said she’s bringing Jambalaya, and Leo was bringing his famous tacos. We have plenty, stop stressing.”  
Annabeth nodded. “Right. That’s fair. I don’t have to eat if we start running low too.”   
She paused, looking down at herself. “Are you sure I look okay?”  
Scoffing, Piper glanced at her best friend up and down once again. “Please, I dress you you myself. You look cute, don’t worry.”  
The blonde nodded again, twice. “You’re right. Thank you.”  
Piper just shrugged. “If I left it up to you, you’d still be standing in front of the closet.”  
Annabeth flushed slightly, running a hand through her hair. “I just wanted to look nice, is that so bad?”  
Piper paused, noticing the slightest hint of hesitation in her voice that made the joke seem a little less innocent than normal.   
“You’re fine. Any reason you’re so nervous though?” She asked, not so subtly opening the door for the conversation she knew they would be having before they left at some point anyway.  
Pausing, Annabeth opened her mouth to deny it before she dropped her head against the wall.  
“Tonight could be… something.”   
Piper was stunned, Annabeth was usually full of a lot more denial, or subtle about her “crush” on her best friend. If you could still call it a crush based off how long she’s had it and how much it had been distracting her lately.  
“Are you going to confess?” She asked gently.   
Annabeth hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t… probably not… I just. I just think Percy might… being thinking the same thing of me.”  
Piper screamed internally. Her friend was one of the smartest people she knew and so incredibly dense at times it hurt. She was glad Annabeth was working through her fear of being rejected or abandoned by him to take the next step, but if she spent a minute not being lost in his eyes, she would be able to see how adorably head over heels he was for her. The number of times she had seen the poor boy practically collapse in on himself with regret when he let a chance to kiss her slip by, or he fumbled his words.  
“I’m… glad you’re starting to see that.” Piper said carefully, reigning in her own frustration at the fact her two best friends were depriving themselves of happiness out of pointless fear. Annabeth could be touchy at times so she knew she had to tread carefully. “Just remember, Percy has fallen for you, the person whose been by his side longer than anyone. Don’t try and change yourself. He’s seen you at your best, and at your worst and he’s still by your side. All you need to do is reach out a hand and he’ll meet you there.” She offered gently.  
Annabeth fell quiet as she let the words sink in.  
Piper leaned down a bit to get a better look at Annabeth’s expression. She saw a mix of determination and concern. A look Piper often saw her with whenever she tried, and usually failed, to take the next step with Percy.  
Her phone buzzed, and when she checked it she saw Jason’s text and grinned. It seemed like the stars were aligning for things to finally happen tonight. Typing out a quick response, she moved over to Annabeth. “We have a little time before we need to head over. Let’s squeeze in an episode of The Great British Bake Off before we head over so you can relax. This is supposed to be a fun christmas party, remember?”  
Annabeth stared at her, and nodded after a moment. “Yeah.” She said slowly, grateful for the moment ceasefire on her lovelife.   
They moved over to the couch, and a few moments later they were lost into the episode.  
Glancing down at another text from Jason, she grinned. Tonight would be a bit night if their idea worked.

XxXxXxXxX  
The sound of a few knocks on their door had Percy heading over to it too quickly. He opened it, shoving down the pointless nerves he felt.   
The door had only been open a minute before Piper had shoved a bowl of pasta salad into his hands that had been balanced awkwardly on the pizza boxes as they made their way up the stairs before.   
“Trick or treat.” She said with a wink as she walked past him, setting down the boxes she carried before throwing her arms around Jason’s neck to share a kiss with him.   
Annabeth was standing awkwardly in the doorway. Her arms were full of the rest of the food as she looked at Percy. “Hey. Merry Christmas.”  
Percy grinned at her, before his gaze drifted upwards to see the santa hat she had on. Adorable. Blinking once, he realized he hadn’t answered her yet. “Merry Christmas, Wise Girl. Now come on, I need you to prove my point to Jason about chips.”  
Annabeth looked confused, but nodded and followed him, closing the door behind her.  
“Jason says plain Lays chips are better than Ruffles.”  
Annabeth looked horrified and made an indignant sound. “Are you kidding me?”  
“Right?” Percy agreed.  
The blonde woman crossed her arms, glaring at Jason. “How could you say that? Ruffles have texture, are much better with any kind of dip, and are actually more than just salt.”  
Jason rolled his eyes. “Don’t drag your best friend in to win your arguments for her.”  
Percy took a bite of a Ruffles to make a point. “If you weren’t so stubborn I wouldn’t need to bring in the big guns.”  
Piper leaned up and kissed Jason’s cheek. “Sorry hun, but they’re right about this one.”  
Jason huffed and moved over to the couch, plopping down on it and looking away.  
Both Annabeth and Piper laughed, as Piper moved over and sat next to him, messing up his hair and chatting with her pouting boyfriend.   
Percy glanced over at Annabeth as she made her way over to him. “You guys actually did a good job decorating and cleaning, I’m impressed.” She teased.  
Around the room various Christmas decorations had been put up. Tinsel was hanging from most things, they had a tree propped up in the corner that was decorated in pure chaos. There was a random assortment of reindeer paraphernalia across various surfaces.   
Letting out a sigh of relief, Percy grinned. “I’m glad you liked it. It took us a while.” He paused. “I’m glad you dressed for the occasion.” He said, nodding his head towards her santa hat.   
Annabeth laughed. “You know me, Ms. Christmas Spirit.” She countered.  
“You say that like it’s a joke.”  
Percy challenged, knowing full well how much she actually enjoyed the holidays.   
Going to take another chip he dipped, Annabeth’s hand shot out as she grabbed the chip from him and ate it, grinning at him. “It’s the season for giving.” She said to his scandalized expression.  
He was clearly about to protest when someone knocked on the door again.   
He gave her a glare letting her know that it wasn’t over, before he moved over to the door.   
When he opened the door he saw Frank and Hazel standing there, all bundled up and smiling. He shared a quick hug with Hazel before bumping Frank’s fist as the lead them in.   
Not much longer after, their group finished getting there as they spread out across the apartment. The carols had been turned up, and Leo was currently belting along with Mariah Carrey as his girlfriend laughed next at him.   
“Tyler and Ashe aren’t coming?” Annabeth asked, leaning on Percy’s shoulder as she looked over at Piper.   
Piper shook her head. “Nah, they had made plans already apparently.” She said, before turning her phone around and showing Percy and Annabeth an instagram post. Tyler and Ashe were kissing, standing in front of a display of lights that Percy recognized to be at the zoo.   
Annabeth laughed. “There is zero chance they aren’t engaged by our next christmas party.”  
Percy nudged her hips. “I’ll be amazed if they aren’t engaged by spring.”  
Jason laughed. “Sounds like we need a new bet.”  
One round of betting later, and soon they were chilling on one of the couches. Percy was devouring yet another slice of pizza, while Annabeth worked on a bowl of Jambalaya, her legs draped over Percy’s lap.   
He was currently chatting with Jason about a new game that had been announced, giving Annabeth a chance to just see him laughing and smiling and she couldn’t do anything but smile.  
Eventually turned back to look at her, causing her to shove a spoonful of food into her face to try and look like she wasn't just staring at him.   
Behind them, Jason and Piper shared a look as Piper got up, moving to their balcony outside for a moment.   
Jason stood up a minute later.   
“Percy, do me a favor, come with me for a second?”  
Percy glanced at Annabeth, before nodding and untangling his legs from her. He followed Jason off to one of their rooms for a moment while Piper came back and moved over to Annabeth. “Okay, Annabeth. I need you to trust me.”  
“No.” She replied instinctively, making Piper roll her eyes. “Then trust Percy.”  
“Why?” Annabeth asked, red flags instantly being raised.   
“Look, he prepared a surprise for you tonight. Jason told me about it, but we need you to stand up and close your eyes.”  
Annabeth paused for a moment.   
Piper’s voice went softer. “Please?”  
Sighing, Annabeth figured she might regret this later but stood up anyway and closed her eyes.   
“Good. I promise nothing bad will happen. Besides, I still live with you so I don’t want you mad at me.” She said, before gently resting her hands over Annabeht’s eyes from behind and started leading her. “Just walk, trust me.”  
“I know exactly where you sleep.” Annabeth warned as she let Piper lead her. A minute later it was a little chillier and she realized she was on the balcony. “Just where are we going?”  
“Just wait a minute, it’s almost ready.”  
Piper stepped back for a moment, leaving Annabeth shivering slightly as she thought of all the ways she’d make Piper’s life a living hell if this was a trick. A second later she heard Percy’s voice and her heart rate spiked.  
“Where are you leading me? I never trust you, dude.”  
Percy’s voice sounded just as confused as her. A moment later she heard him stumble next to her. “This better be worth it, Jason.” His voice sounded right next to her, making her jump. “Percy?”  
“Annabeth?” They both asked, as they heard the sound of a door being slid shut.   
Annabeth opened her eyes to see… nothing special. They were just out on the balcony.  
Percy opened his a moment later and looked at her expectantly. “So…?”  
“So? I thought you had a surprise.” Annabeth countered.  
“But they said…” The gears turned in Percy’s head. “I’m kicking his ass.” Percy said as he turned, before pulling on the door and trying to step through.   
Instead, the door didn’t budhe and he slammed into the glass.  
“Don’t tell me…”  
Annabeth said after a moment.   
Percy dropped his head against the class. “It’s locked. I’m actually going to kill him.”  
He turned around and leaned on the balcony. “Great. Locked out of my own party.”  
Annabeth nudged him with her hip. “If it makes you feel better, I got locked out too.”  
He shook his head. “Of course it doesn’t. You’re the one person I trust to keep them in check.”  
“Why do you think they did it?” Annabeth asked after a moment. If they bothered with this dumb prank, they had to have a reason. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Piper staring back at them with an amused, if not slightly apologetic look. And a finger pointing straight up.  
Glancing up, Annabeth’s stomach dropped.  
Hanging above the sliding door was a mistletoe.  
“You’re kidding me. That little bi-”  
“Are you serious?”  
Percy said as he saw it too.   
They glanced at each other, before they both flushed red and looked back out at the skyline.   
“I’m burning her present.” Annabeth said after a moment.  
“I’m dropping his down the fire escape.” Percy countered, before they both started laughing. “We’ll get them back for this sometime.”  
“Naturally.” Percy agreed.   
Annabeth shivered slightly and she felt Percy’s jacket drape over her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, but won’t you be cold.”  
He shrugged. “We won’t be out here long but you get cold easily.”  
Annabeth sighed. “I guess we know what we need to do.”  
Percy’s face was red, and Annabeth was pretty sure it wasn’t just from the cold. “I guess.”  
He turned to face her, and Annabeth’s pulse was pounding. They tried their best to ignore all of the eyes watching them.   
They stared at each other for a moment, before they started to move closer.   
Annabeth’s eyes closed as she tried not to panic over the fact that she was about to kiss her crush.   
“Wait.”   
Her eyes flew open at his words. Instantly it felt like a sword had pierced her heart. Her fears were true, Percy didn’t see her that way. “I-” Before she could try and come up with anything to say that wouldn’t end in tears, Percy continued.   
“I can’t do this.”  
She nodded her head, feeling tears well up in the corner of her eyes. “I know. I’m so-”  
“Annabeth!” He snapped, making her look up surprised.   
“I can’t kiss you like this. I… like you too much. I love you. But I don’t want you to kiss me just because they are forcing you to. My heart can’t handle that. You deserve bet-”  
“Percy!” She interrupted, her brain melting. “Did you say you love me?”  
He nodded, unable to meet her eyes. “For a while now. I just…”  
“I love you too.” Annabeth blurted out before her courage could fail her. “For so long. But I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know if…”  
They stared at each other for a moment while Piper’s words echoed in her head. 

Just reach out a hand.

Slowly Annabeth reached out a hand, and found Percy’s entwining with it.   
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his as they shared their first real kiss. It was brief, and they looked at each other for a moment, before they leaned forward again and kissed each other in the cold night air. Annabeth’s other hand slipped up into Percy’s hair while his wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.   
Time seemed to fade away, and she felt warm in the cool night air next to him.   
They kissed for a minute more before they separated as they caught their breath.   
Percy had her new favorite goofy smile on his face as he kissed her nose briefly. “I think we can go back in now.”  
“They can wait.” Was Annabeth response as she leaned in for another long anticipated kiss.   
All Percy did was hum his agreement into their kiss as Annabeth was pretty sure she loved the holidays even more now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I hope to have one more Christmas fic up before the end of the year too, so look forward to that!
> 
> If ya'll want to help me out, I have a Christmas sale going on currently until the end of the ear for my art commissions over on my Tumblr and Twitter and I'd love to draw for you! :D I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!


	9. Baseball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Paul go to a baseball game, for a chance to hang out together. A

Percy stood up awkwardly as Paul returned with the food, lettimg him shimmy by as he took his seat again. They really didn't give enough leg room in the stadiums  
Eventually though Paul settled back in and Percy sat down again, taking the pretzel that wqs offered to him. Paul also handed him the cheese before he started unwrapping the foil around his own hotdog as Percy turned his attention back to the game.  
"What I'd miss?" He asked in a teasing tone. Percy laughed. "Another base hit followed by three strikeouts." He answered, even though he knew Paul was keeping better track than he was. Percy enjoyed baseball for sure, but Paul actually followed the league pretty closely. Plus the entire night the game had been rather uneventful. The score was still 1 to 1, after they each scored a run in the second inning. At the bottom of the 5th it didn’t seem like much was going to happen.   
“At least it’s not raining.” He offered as he took a big bite of his hotdog.   
“For once.” Percy replied, eating his own snack. He usually had pretty bad luck with it raining when he went to a game, and some part of him honestly just believe Zeus was petty enough to ruin games for him.   
Honestly, hanging out with just Paul was a little odd. Usually Sally was with them, or Annabeth if he was lucky. Paul was cool, and both Annabeth and Sally had been encouraging him to try and spend more time with him. Annabeth especially, mentioning how he should really give him a fair chance, the same way he had talked her into giving her dad another chance.   
So when Paul had offered him a ticket to the game a little nervously, Percy had agreed. Annabeth’s smile alone when he told her had been enough. But he was glad to actually get to hang out with Paul a little. He was usually either off on some quest to save the world, or he saw him as his teacher so it was weird to get used to the idea of him being family. But with his little sister now here, he really did want to make sure she had a happy family to grow up with that he never had growing up.  
Another inning had passed, and Percy realized he was actually having a lot of fun. It was one of those rare times where he felt just like a normal teen at a baseball game with his stepdad. It was… nice. Their conversation eventually found a comfortable cadence, and Percy really he never really had an older guy to talk with like this. Everytime he talked to his dad, it was always… tense and important. Chiron was also important to him, but things were usually cryptic or distant.   
“So… how are things with Annabeth?” He asked after a moment, causing Percy to swivel his head to look at him suddenly, almost spitting out his soda.  
“What?”  
Paul had a tight lipped smile. “I was just curious, you know?”  
“They’re… good.” He said after a moment. It was true. After everything they had been through, they finally had a chance to work on them. It was… refreshing.   
“That’s good.” Paul said, raising an eyebrow. “I know you two have been through a lot, so things are probably a little weird. It’s just... “ He trailed off, and Percy hadn’t really seen Paul look so nervous around him since those first few months when he had started dating his mom and Percy had been unsure about him.   
“It’s just… I’m old. I’ve had a lot of time to make mistakes and learn from them. If you ever have any questions or… I don’t know, need anyone to talk to, I’m here, okay? I know it might be weird… I just want you to know I care, okay? Or even if you just need money or something.”  
Percy stared at him, his chest feeling with an emotion he couldn’t fully understand. He nodded, turning to look back at the game and feeling the corners of his eyes burning slightly. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.” He offered a bit lamely, really not sure what to say.   
They sat in quiet for a few more batters, until a small idea crept into his head.   
“Do you know what women like?”  
Paul seemed surprised to hear Percy speak again. “Uh… no. I don’t think any man really does, but why?” He asked with a laugh.   
His joke brought a smile to his lips, making him feel a little better about being confused. “It’s our anniversary soon, and I’m trying to come up with a gift for her.”  
Paul nodded, patting him on the shoulder. “You really are becoming a man, the eternal struggle of choosing a gift.” He teased. “What do you think she wants?”  
Percy thought for a moment. “I don’t know. She’s pretty good about managing her own supplies and books on architecture. I was thinking a necklace or something… but I don’t know if that’s very Annabeth.”  
Paul thought for a moment. “Annabeth is pretty tough, and honestly I think she would love whatever you get her. But I don’t think you’re off track with a necklace. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that they often love having reminders of you, and the right necklace makes them feel even prettier.” He paused for a moment. “We’ll go this weekend. We can swing by some stores, and just see what sticks out, cool?”  
Percy nodded, grinning. “Thanks. I don’t want to screw this up.”  
Paul takes another sip of his drink. “That just means you’re on the right track to doing it right. Caring goes a long way.”  
Percy glanced at Paul for a minute, before nodding. It was hard to put it into words, but having someone he could talk to like this was… nice. It was something he had always wanted, but was never willing to admit. Sally had been the best mother he could imagine, and in the end, Posiedon had even done his best as his dad in his own, weird way. But this… was nice.  
Eventually the game ended, and Percy let out a yawn as he shuffled back into Paul’s car. It was late, and he had gotten up early to spend the morning with Annabeth. As the car warmed up as Paul started to make his way back, the ride was mostly quiet. “Thanks for coming with me today, I had a lot of fun Percy.”  
Percy nodded, resting his head against the headrest. “I enjoyed it too. We should… do it again sometime.” He finished after a yawn. His head slowly rolled to the side as sleep was overtaking him. “Thank’s dad.” He mumbled out as he passed out.  
Next to him, Paul gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, a big grin on his face. Silently he turned up the heat a little more as he drove back to their apartment, eager to talk to Sally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This was based off a request I got online. Not the usual percabeth fluff but thought it might be worth sharing!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading! Feel free to check out my tumblr to see more of my writing, and the art I post! :D Have a lovely day!


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